15 Again
by PercyPotter123
Summary: At the age of 32, Percy Jackson has done a lot, and he's seen a lot. The one thing he hasn't done is get himself sent back in time. Percy gets sent to Hogwarts while Harry Potter and his friends are about to start their fifth year, turning 15 years old in the process. Percy is not the same man as the one right after the Giant War. Rated M. Wait and see for pairings(?).
1. 15 Again

**New story on Percy Jackson going to Hogwarts. for those who have read my past works, Im sorry for not updating in what seems like years. I just kind of lost interest in both. There's more of a chance for me to go back to Luck Is Just Another Word for Fate, but I wont make any promises. Now, on with the new story. Hope you guys like it.**

 _Chapter 1: 15 Again_

 _Percy Pov_

In all of my 32 years on Earth, I, Percy Jackson had never pissed off a deity so much. Well, that was debatable. I had pissed off a lot of immortals and gotten a wide range of reactions in my lifetime. One time, when I was 19 years of age, I accidentally killed a dove at Camp Half-Blood - Don't ask me how - and Aphrodite made all my clothes pink for half a year.

The present, though, this was something that was life or death. I didn't think about it to hard at the time, but about a week ago, I had gotten drunk and abused my power over the Mist, confusing mortals around me and just being a bitch to society.

Well, now that mistake was going to bite me in the ass. Over the years of being a son of Poseidon, I had gotten better at sending when immortals and monsters were near me. I could sense that Hecate was near, and I was trapped in my kitchen.

"Percy, there's nowhere to run." I heard from behind me. I spun around to find Hecate appearing as a woman in her twenties, wearing a black robe and an intimidating face.

"Lady Hecate, I didn't mean to abuse the Mist. I was drunk and I was want thinking." I said. As soon as the words left my mouth, I knew I had again made mistake, and I didn't have Annabeth to help me in my choice of words. Rule one when apologising to gods, never make excuses.

"It has been years since your days off youth, yet still you manage to make mistakes without ever learning better." Hecate replies angrily. Now I was provoked and mad.

"Yeah, well you gods saw to that when you gave us all a second chance to be as arrogant as you." I growled, not caring anymore about stepping over that very distinct line of disrespect. Hecate suddenly smiled.

"I have an idea for your punishment." she said.

"Um, how about no punishment, if that's okay?" I said sarcastically. Hecate ignored my response and came closer to me, our faces becoming inches away from each other.

"You seem to be clinging to the past, something you should know isn't very healthy." Hecate said. I winced at the comment. "I am going to send you off to a place where your insolence will no longer annoy those who must clean up your messes."

"Messes? You call saving the world numerous times, and saving the asses of gods like you, me making messes?" I asked incredulously. Hecate again ignored me.

"Your not listening." Hecate said patiently. "Your punishment will be to relive a part in time where our won't and can't disturb the gods. Good luck."

"Wait, What?" Is that even possible?" I asked. Hecate smirked.

"I'm a goddess, Percy. I'll see you later." with that said, Hecate snapped her fingers and closed her eyes. I felt a tingling sensation behind my gears and all of a sudden my stomach flipped inside out. My head began to spin and my legs turned to jelly before my eyes were blinded by a flashing light and I blacked out.

* * *

I woke up in a dusty ass hotel room on a dusty ass bed, thankfully fully clothed. My head was ringing and my vision was blurry as Hades.

I swept the sheets off me and sat up. I was wearing the same as I had when Hecate had done whatever she did.

I walked around the room and went up to a mirror.

"Shit." I said. "Shit fuck."

In the mirror was the young, teen version of myself.

"Stupid gods."

I walked out of my hotel room and found myself walking to a bar that seemed to be the center of the hotel. I saw an old, greasy man behind the bar, currently cleaning cups while there seemed to be no residents within the pub.

"Hi, I'm Tom, can I get you anything?" The bartender asked. I shook my head.

"No thanks, can you tell me where I am?" I asked.

"You must've been pretty drunk when you got here, huh? Maybe I was as well. I don't remember you." Tom chuckled. I managed a smile.

"Yeah, that must be it." I replied.

"Anyway, this is the Leaky Cauldron, kid. Hope you have a good stay." Tom said. I nodded goodbye and headed toward the entrance/exit.

'Well that guy was weird. I'm literally a teen, why would I get drunk?' I thought to myself. I shook my head and was glad I had an excuse for being in the hotel.

Although the friendly yet creepy bartender had given me the name of the hotel, I still didn't know where exactly I was. Due to that missing piece of information, my seaweed brain was able to deduce that finding a newspaper was to be my first plan of action.

I wandered the outside of the Leaky Cauldron, seeing many odd figures. Some in brown robes and some with just mismatching clothing.

Finally, I found a newspaper just lying on a rusty bench. I sat down and picked up the paper.

"Great, just great. I'm in London," I said. I shook my head. "I'm in London on July 28 - What the fuck!"

People around me just stared for a couple seconds before going back to their business.

'It's literally the year 1995. I traveled back in time.' I thought. I smiled happily and a lamp next to me sparked with energy for a second before going out again. I ignored the surge in energy and walked back to the Leaky Cauldron.

"Hey Tom!" I said cheerily as I entered the pub. He smiled and waved back.

"Hi…" Tom faltered. "What's your name again?" I hesitated, I didn't know what my actions could do to the timeline. But I never was one to think things through.

'Fuck it' I thought. "Sorry. My name's Percy. Percy Jackson." Tom smiled once again.

"Hey Percy." I waved and went to return to my room. As I entered my empty hotel room, I realized that there were some things I hadn't checked yet. I reached into my jeans pocket and found a familiar object when I pulled out my hand.

"Hello old friend." I said as I examined Riptide. I uncapped the ballpoint pen and found that it still turned into a sword. I re-capped it and put it back into my pocket. Another thing I hadn't tried were my demigod powers. I had lost the curse of Achilles long ago, and I hadn't used all of my powers for a while, but I still remembered my full powers.

I went to the mens' bathroom and turned on the sink, letting the water run without interference. I reached out and a familiar tug in my gut told me all I needed to know. I felt the water rise from the sink and the stream ended, a ball of water all that was left, floating in the air and bending to his will. The sensation was familiar and reminded of home, at least, what I used to call home.

Camp Half-Blood was in the past, the 32 year old version of Percy had chosen to abandon the god part of him after all the wars and quests and death threats from gods and monsters. Yet that attempt soon revealed itself to be futile and I found myself secluded from my friends and family, fighting for my life alone while the gods still saw me as their pawn.

"AHHH!" Percy whipped around and saw a house maid scream, watching me control the water aimlessly and thoughtlessly. The girl ran and I sighing, letting go of his control over the water. Just his luck for a clear sighted mortal to see him using his demigod powers. Percy walked out of the bathroom and back to the bar where Tom was listening to the housemaid whisper furiously. Tom nodded and the housemaid walked away, still a little freaked out.

"So mate, you can control water, huh." Tom said, not even forming it into a question. It was a statement. I didn't know what to do. I nodded.

"Yeah." I said, rubbing the back of my neck. Tom didn't even seem surprised. He just nodded.

"How old are you?" Tom asked calmly.

"I'm 15." I said quickly, not even thinking about it. In my head, I just knew that I was 15.

"About to be a fifth year, eh?" Tom said, nodding once again. He looked around the bar like he was making sure nobody else was listening. "What house you in?"

"What?" I asked, completely thrown off by the question.

"You know, at Hogwarts. What house are you in?" Tom asked again. I held back a fit of laughter. Just hearing that name made me want to start repeating it over and over until the name didn't sound stupid.

"What's Hogwarts?" I asked, substituting the question in place of laughter. Tom then looked confused, scratching his scruffy chin.

"Well then…" Tom trailed off, seemingly thinking hard. "You said your name was Percy Jackson, and I'm guessing you're American, right?"

"Yeah, New York." I said. I didn't want to get too deep into my past.

"Do you have a wand?" Tom asked. I was getting even more confused by the strange questions.

"No." I answered plainly. Tom shook his head.

"Well, I'll be right back kid." Tom said, leaving me awkwardly standing in the middle of the pub. Tom left to go to the back of the bar and came back with an owl on his arm.

"Shit." I muttered under my breath. Hopefully the owl wouldn't try to rip my guts out.

Tom took out a piece of parchment and whipped out… a quill? He wrote a few things on the paper before rolling it up and giving it to the owl. He whispered to the owl and it hooted cheerily in response, flying off and passing me. While almost shitting myself, the owl flew out the window and didn't come back.

"Hopefully they'll make an exception to you, kid." Tom said.

"An exception to what?" I asked, my mind running in a hamster wheel. I didn't have an intelligent being as my translator for all the information coming through my ears into my brain.

"I'll just let Hagrid explain it." Tom waved me off. "Go to your room, Percy. Hopefully he'll be here in the morning. Tom walked away and I stood there for about five minutes, trying to comprehend the last ten.

"The fuck is happening?" I asked myself. He clearly didn't think I was a demigod, so what was happening? Unless there were demigods in London who went to a school called Hogwarts, but the gods wouldn't allow that. The gods would force demigods to change the name of the school.

I chuckled at myself and my "logic". As I entered my room and collapsed on my bed, I didn't let any of the worries of the day and the day ahead get to me.

"Fuck." I said. I first pumped the air and smiled. I was 15 again. I was young and I seemingly didn't have any gods or monsters coming down my throat. The events of the day had distracted me from the awesomeness of turning back time and becoming a teen. I still had my powers and my strength.

I closed my eyes in happiness and sighed in relief. I didn't give a shit about time or breaking time. Hecate has done me a favor by sending me to London in the year 2001. My new moto from now on would be:

 **Fuck it**

* * *

I woke up in my bed and immediately flipped the covers off of me, jumping out of my bed and walking straight to the bar. I just realized that i was wearing the same clothes as yesterday and smiled.

"Fuck it." I said. As I entered the pub, I saw a rather large man at the bar, drinking a beer and talking to Tom. Tom nodded to me and the large man turned around.

"I'm Hagrid." the large man said.

"Percy." I said warily. "Why are you here?"

"You're a wizard Percy."

"I'm a what?"

 **First chapter of the new story, hope you guys enjoy it. Please review for improvements.**


	2. You're a Wizard, Percy

**I want to make it clear that both the Harry Potter and Percy Jackson world are not exactly the same in my story compared to the books. This story is going to be semi-original only based off the worlds, and there's a reason I have Percy de-aging from 32 to 15. I will soon include _italicized_ flashbacks to include parts of Percy's past. I want to try and make this Percy different from the one in the books. They will have similarities, but Percy has had a whole 15 years more on Earth compared to the Blood of Olympus**

 **Second Chapter**

* * *

 _Percy Pov_

"I'm a wizard?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"Yeah, a wizard Percy. The only reason Hogwarts hasn' snatched you up yet is probably 'cause yer American." Hagrid said. I looked at him for a second before I burst out laughing.

"Why do you think I'm a wizard?" I asked. Hagrid looked at Tom as if to ask: 'Is this guy crazy?'

"Tom told meh that you was controllin water. Yeh haven' learned yet how ter control yer magic. Hogwarts'll teach yeh all there is to know about magic."

"Yeah, okay." I said, still recovering from my fit of laughter. Then I realized, I was 15, and I was in the year 1995. I had nothing better to do then go to Hogwarts and figure out why magic existed in London. "You know what, I'll go. When do we start?"

"Oh, okay then. Firs' we gotta get you yer supplies, then we can go ter Hogwarts." Hagrid said, surprised at my sudden flip in character. I nodded and jumped out of my seat.

"Okay, let's start now then. But just so you know, I'm have ADHD and dyslexia."

"Thas fine, Headmaster Dumbledore 'll accommodate for that." Hagrid said.

We exited the Leaky Cauldron after a while of complicated explaining about wizards and Hogwarts and a lot of other stuff that I would probably forget. Hagrid lead me to a brick wall and tapped one of the bricks with his umbrella. I watched as the wall collapsed on itself and Hagrid introduced me to Diagon Alley.

"Here, I have yer lis' fer supplies." Hagrid told me, handing a greasy piece of parchment with scribbled handwriting. I took it and scanned the piece of parchment.

"There's a lot of things on here." I stated. Hagrid nodded. "Where are we going first?"

"Firs' thing yer gonna need is money fer ye to buy things." Hagrid said. I patted my pockets and realized that I had no money. Riptide and my clothes were the only things that were transported with me.

"Can you pay?" I asked nervously. "Sorry, but my pockets seem to be a little empty" Hagrid chuckled.

"Our firs' stop is Gringotts - the Wizardin' bank. Run by goblins that is. Wizards have a different currency than muggles." Hagrid said. He pointed at the biggest building in sight. It was clean and the structure and color was a nice change from the musty buildings surrounding the bank. Annabeth would've immediately attempted to help remodel the plain and old shops. She would've found the current architecture insulting.

I sighed in nostalgia.

The outside was not misleading to the interior, as little goblins sat at desks that were equally as beautiful as the exterior. The giant hall was like an office surrounding a walkway, with the only sounds being the footsteps of me and Hagrid, and coins clicking against each other.

"Why is it so quiet?" I whispered to Hagrid.

"Goblins generally don' talk much. Only when needed." Hagrid said. "Don' be disrespectful." he added warily.

We continued down the marble hall and stopped right in front of a giant black desk that held multiple goblins concentrating and peering at varying objects. One of the goblins stopped what they were doing and looked up, its creepy, wrinkled face just staring at me. I had come across some scary and odd creatures in my life, but there was something about these goblins that just added an extra creep factor that sent chills down my spine.

"What can I do for you?" the goblin croaked. It wasn't even a question. It was phrased more like an irritated demand, implying that helping humans would be beneath it.

"Here to make a possible withdrawal." Hagrid stayed. The goblin raised an eyebrow and changed his gaze from Hagrid to me. I stared him in the eyes.

"Name." he ordered.

"Percy Jackson." I said quickly. The goblin's gaze hardened and he studied my face carefully.

"Come with me." the goblin said plainly. Hagrid patted me on the back and I stumbled forward.

"Yer lucky, ye are. Seems yeh got a deceased relative who got yeh a vault." Hagrid whispered. I nodded, attempting to comprehend the fact that I had an ancestor, probably on my mom's side, who was a witch or wizard.

We went beyond what seemed like the end of the hallway and I found out real fast that the exterior and the main hall had actually deceived me. The underground of the building was the real Gringotts, and it was nothing like what I had previously seen. Owing to its underground location, it looked like a large cave with stalactites hanging from the ceiling. Railroad tracks ran farther than I could see, and guessing by the amount of different pathways, there were hundreds if not thousands of vaults, containing whatever the hell was valuable in the wizarding world.

"Get in." the goblin ordered. Hagrid, the goblin, and I stuffed into a tiny cart and when the goblin pulled a rusty red lever, we shot down, going deeper and deeper into the caves. We rode in silence as the wind whistled past my face and soon only dim lanterns strewn to the side were our sources of light.

"This vault belonged to your great-great grandmother." the goblin said. He pushed the lever and the cart screeched to a halt. I put a hand through my hair and thought. I had no idea who the hell my great-great grandmother was. On both my mom's and dad's side.

Hagrid basically shoved me out of the cart trying to get out himself. His face showed me that his stomach hadn't agreed with the cart ride. I, on the other hand, tripped over the edge and landed face first on the stone beneath me.

"Ow," I grunted. Hagrid stepped over me and the goblin. "Ow." I repeated.

"Follow me." the goblin said, his voice echoing in the cave. I wiped off the dirt from my shirt and trailed behind the amusing combo of a goblin and Hagrid, who was three times the size of his counterpart.

We didn't walk for too long, it seemed to only be around five minutes passing by numbered doors that were packed closely together.

"We're here." The goblin announced. We stopped and I studied the door. It wasn't much. It was made out of a metallic substance with the white number "1027" painted in the center.

The goblin put his hand on the door, under the number, and a series of locks began to be opened. I heard multiple clicks of metal against metal and chains ran inside the door, eventually unlocking the thick barrier.

"I will wait for you at the cart:" the goblin said plainly. I nodded and swung open the door as the goblin paced back to where we came from.

"I wonder wha's in there." Hagrid said before both of us were exposed to a bright shining light. I covered my eyes with my arm before slowly lowering my arm and being in awe at the giant stacks of coins.

"Blimey, I haven' seen this much gold in me life other than Harry's." Hagrid said in the same shock as I had.

"How much is this?" I asked curiously, walking in the box of a vault and picking up a handful of gold coins. I let them go, watching the gold run down like a waterfall and hearing them clink satisfyingly against the floor covered in gold. Any amount of money would have been fine for someone like me, who grew up on the poorer side, but his was just so…...wow!

"Enough to las' ye a lifetime, thas how much." Hagrid replies. I nodded. "Here, put some in this bag." Hagrid pulled out a leather drawstring pouch and handed it to me. It seemed a bit small for the amount of money I seemed to now posses.

"Isn't this a bit small?" I asked, voicing my thoughts. Hagrid smiled.

"It's got a charm on it that'll allow ye to put anythin' in there. Put in as much as ye want." Hagrid said happily. "You'll learn how to do that eventually."

"Wow." I mumbled. I was suddenly a lot more excited to learn magic. Before I had nothing else to do, now I had something fun to explore.

"Well, go on then." Hagrid motioned. I began to grab handful after handful, rapidly shoving the gold into my pouch.

"Galleons are the most valuable, with Sickles being second most and Knuts being last." Hagrid explained, motioning to each type of coin. "29 Knuts to a sickle and 17 Sickles to a Galleon." I stopped shoving Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts into the pouch and nodded.

"Okay, I'm done." I said. I put the surprisingly light pouch in my pocket with Riptide. Knowing me, all of the money would probably be gone within the month. Maybe even the next week.

"Let's go then." Hagrid said. I followed him out of the vault, making sure to close the door behind me. Unsurprisingly, it automatically locked.

"Hagrid, how fun would you say magic is?" I asked. I wanted to fully know how good my time in the past would be - whether it really would be a curse or a fresh start. Hagrid chuckled.

"A couple o' months ago I woulda said our world's fantastic."

"Why not now?" I asked curiously. Hagrid expression turned grim and serious.

"Can' say his name, but a very dark an' powerful wizard jus' came back after over a decade. I reckon he's bound ter do somethin' bad real soon." Hagrid explained. I grimaced. Not again. Not another maniac trying to have everybody worship him.

"Why can't you say his name?" I asked. Hagrid shook his head.

"Here, lemme spell it for ye." Hagrid said. He whipped out a greasy napkin that I hoped hadn't been used and when we arrived at the cart, looked at me.

"You got a quill?" he asked.

"A what?" I looked at the goblin and he seemed to be smiling.

"Oh, rich'," Hagrid said. "Yer American and ye haven' been introduced to our customs."

"Yeah. But why are you using a quill?" I asked. Hagrid shrugged.

"Never you mind. Le's just say that everybody calls him You-Know-Who." Hagrid said. I nodded. Maybe it was the same as the realm of gods and monsters. Names have power.

Hagrid put the napkin away and the goblin pulled the lever, shooting the cart back to where we came from.

"Where to next, Hagrid?" I asked after we exited Gringotts. Hagrid took out the list and studied it for a second before stuffing it back in his pocket.

"You go get a wand at Ollivanders, and I'll get yer books while you do tha'." Hagrid said. He pointed to a shop that had "OLLIVANDERS" in plain font on the front. Before I knew it, Hagrid was gone to get my books, leaving me alone to get my wand. I wandered the street when I looked to my right and saw a sign labeled "KNOCKTURN ALLEY".

It would be an understatement to say that the figures in the alley that I saw were odd. As I peered at the interesting figures that were either urinating on the walls, shouting/muttering random things, shuffling up or down the alley, or anything else that you think is weird.

Suddenly, due to my current unawareness of where I was going, I bumped into someone and caused us to both collapse to the ground. I groaned and got up quickly. I seemed to be falling down a lot.

"Sorry mate, that's my bad." the man, or rather the boy who bumped into me said. I studied him and found him to be about my age. He had red hair, freckles, and a long nose. He also carried a long package in both of his arms.

"It's cool, I'm fine. I wasn't paying attention." I said.

"Are you from America?" the boy asked, suddenly astonished.

"Oh, the accent," I said, "Yeah, I'm from the states. Name's Percy Jackson."

"Ron. Ron Weasley." the boy introduced. I would've offered to shake his hand, but he was a bit preoccupied with his package.

"What's in the package?" I asked curiously. He glanced down at the thing in his arms, and smiled.

"It's my new broomstick!" Ron said excitedly. I cocked my head in confusion.

"Why would you be excited about getting a broom?" I asked. Ron peered at me for a second before chuckling.

"How old are you?"

"15." I answered. He nodded.

"Are you a transfer student or something? You coming to Hogwarts?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, I've heard it's a little weird to go into Hogwarts at 15 years old."

"Usually people get their letters at 11, but transfer students aren't that uncommon" Ron explained. "Well, you're in my year, so I'll probably be seeing you again."

"What about the broom?" I asked. We were kind of getting off topic.

"You've really never heard of Quidditch?" Almost looking a bit insulted with my lack of knowledge on the subject.

"No, not really" I replied simply, taking little note of how his expression softened

"It's a sport, one of the most famous Wizarding ones, where you ride brooms." Ron explained simply.

"Okay then. I have to get my wand now, so any advice?" I asked. Ron shrugged.

"Ollivander may seem a bit crazy, but he'll give you the right one."

"Thanks. See you later hopefully." I said. Ron nodded and hurried past me clutching his broom. I took a deep breath and headed toward Ollivander's. I don't really know why I was so nervous, I didn't even know what the process was like to receive a wand.

I opened the door to Ollivander's and a bell rung, signaling my entrance. A head popped out from the many shelves that occupied the giant room and the old man smiled. I was guessing he was probably Ollivander.

"Hello, what can I help you with today young man?" Ollivander asked kindly.

"Um, I'm here to get my wand?" I half-asked, half-answered. Ollivander smiled and started toward his desk in front of me.

"I am Mr. Ollivander." the man said. I grinned.

"I'm Percy Jackson." I said. Ollivander smiled and raised an eyebrow.

"You seem a little older than my usual customers. And you are from America too?" Ollivander observed. I nodded.

"Well then…" Ollivander said, tapping his fingers on the desk. "This process usually takes a few tries, but let's try to get this in one, shall we?" Ollivander turned around and started to study the shelves of boxes. He tapped his chin and hummed. After a few minutes of maneuvering around the shelves.

After a while, Ollivander picked out a box and popped off the lid. He examined the contents of the box and smiled.

"I think we have your wand." Ollivander said. "Here. Give it a wave." I took the wand and studied it. It wasn't heavy, and not too light, similar to the way Riptide felt when I first picked it up. I smiled. It felt right.

I flicked the wand aimlessly and a blue light emitted from the wand, surrounding the entire room in a sparkly blue aura. I smiled, and judging from the expression on Ollivander's face, he was happy with the match.

"11 and a half inches, aspen wood, phoenix feather, fairly flexible." Ollivander said. I studied the wand, spinning it in my hands. I had a feeling a lot of my ADHD would be poured into fidgeting with my new wand. I should probably name it. After all, I wouldn't want to give my old weapon more attention than my new one.

"Thank you. This feels right. I can't explain it, but this wand feels right." I said to Ollivander. He handed me the case and I put my wand in it.

"The wand chooses the wizard, Mr. Jackson. It would not be your wand if it did not feel right." Ollivander said with a knowing smile.

"Here." I said, taking out an assortment of coins from my pocket and putting it on the desk in front of me. Ollivander picked up the money and thanked me.

"Don't thank me. You're the one who has that wand that has chosen me." I said, listening to his earlier words. I waved him goodbye and exited the shop, happy with my wand selection.

The rest of the day was filled with a lot of scurrying around with Hagrid. Hogwarts really required you to have a lot of things. The pointy wizard hat thing especially seemed a tad bit unnecessary. Hagrid eventually had to go do something for Hogwarts and I got the last requirements easily.

The day ended with me passing out from exhaustion on my bed. I didn't even bother saying

hi to Tom or anything.

"What the fuck am I doing?" I asked myself. I stared into the darkness of my room. It was an honest question. I had no idea what the hell I was doing in the 90's about to go to a school for magic. Maybe I was just hopeful I could turn Hecate's punishment into a hidden blessing. The first portion of my life was spent being felt like a loser, bouncing around from school to school and not having friends. The second portion of my life, I felt great. I found a purpose and friends. The third portion of my life was spent doing anything and everything to try and get away from the second portion of my life. That obviously didn't go so well, and eventually, I just accepted my role as an outcast and a fallen hero.

Now I was back in the body of the second portion of my life, which was probably the best part of my time on Earth. Maybe the luck will carry over to my new life.

I returned to my bed and closed my eyes, knowing that I hadn't had a "demigod nightmare" in 14 years.

* * *

 _Harry Pov_

Feeling ignored was not a feeling I wanted to get used to again anytime soon. It had happened with the Dursleys, but all of my actions came under a microscope when I was introduced to the wizarding world.

At best, I was feeling ignored. Mostly because of Dumbledore not even acknowledging me at my hearing, but all the anger over the summer had bottled up. Currently, Grimmauld Place was my home, and it wasn't all that good, but it was far better than the Dursleys'. At least I had the Weasleys as a constant at Grimmauld Place along with other members of the Order of the Phoenix.

I decided to spend a lot of my time observing and helping Fred and George. Considering the fact that they only got three OWLs each, they needed a little bit of a boost at times. Yet Fred and George were smarter than they let on and their passion for joke making helped reveal their intuition.

Hermione however refused to help and when she wasn't hanging out with me and Ron, she was reading. Ron and her had gotten their prefect badges, and although I was confused and a little jealous at first, I now didn't mind it. If anything, I didn't have to worry about random Gryffindor prefects being on my back for any screw ups.

"Harry, Harry are you alright?" Hermione asked from the bed behind me, snapping me out of my trance. I nodded and rubbed my scar, which had been recently flaring in pain at random occasions.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I replied. I turned to the desk I was sitting at and continued to clean my wand. I hadn't polished it in what felt like forever. I yawned and stretched. It was late and I had bags under my eyes fromthe lack of sleep from the past couple of days. "Hey, do you remember when we leave for Hogwarts?"

"Yeah, tomorrow first thing after breakfast." Hermione answered. "Ron and Mrs. Weasley should be back from Diagon Alley soon."

"Ok, thanks." I said, turning away. I could still feel her gaze on me, though. "What do you want, Hermione?" I asked after a minute. It wasn't an angry request, just a frustrated one, which I guess isn't much better.

"Well, it's just…" Hermione trailed off. "Are you alright Harry?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?" I asked, letting off just a bit.

"Well, I know I haven't seen you in a while, but I know that you're scar's hurting and I'm guessing it's because you're still on Cedric's death seeing as Voldemort hasn't done anything that stands out lately." Hermione reasoned. I sighed. Sometimes it really sucked that she was so observant.

"Yeah. Most nights Cedric's accompanied me, dying over and over again." I said, a little resentfully. Hermione looked at him for a couple seconds, thinking.

"Think on the bright side of things." she said.

"What bright side is their to Cedric's murder?" I asked hotly.

"That might've come out a little wrong," Hermione winced. I nodded. "I mean, at least Cho's freed up now." I failed to see the relevancy of the comment until I saw Hermione fingering a necklace that she had just recently received.

"I'm probably not the best to give you relationship advice or anything like that, but if Krum doesn't send you an owl, it's him, not you." I said, my tone finally calming. Hermione blushed and nodded, turning around. After a few minutes I finally responded to her remark:

"And Cho is… complicated. I don't know what do about her." Hermione looked at me curiously with a wide smile.

"Don't look at me, it's not like I have any more experience than you." Hermione said. I chuckled and went back to cleaning my wand.

After I finished, I went down the stairs and into the room that contained the Blacks' family tree. I stared at every branch and looked at every person. Just curious and bored.

"All my relatives did was teach me that Death Eaters and those who can hurt you come in all shapes and sizes." Sirius said from behind me. I turned around and nodded slowly.

"Sorry if you don't want me to look at it, Sirius." I said. He shook his head and frowned.

"It's fine, Harry. I just want you to know that none of those people are my family." Sirius said. He studied my face and put his hand on my shoulder. "Get some rest, Harry, you'll be going to Hogwarts tomorrow and need to be well rested."

"You sounds like Mrs. Weasley." I joked. He smiled and motioned me back to where I was sleeping.

I ended the night happily awaiting my arrival to Hogwarts, ready to see new friends yet bracing for backlash from the events before the summer. This school year would be... not fun, but interesting to see how it would play out.

* * *

 **Thanks. This chapter was mostly a filler, but it also forwarded some details of the plot. Comments and questions are encouraged in the form of reviews and PMs.**


	3. To Hogwarts

**Before we begin this chapter, I wanted to bring to everyone's attention that I found a willing person to beta this story! My beta, Legacyofmorons, is really great at helping me improve my story and fix any mistakes as well as helping me stick to the original plotline and keeping things accurate. Thanks to Legacyofmorons, who I recommend for anyone interested in doing a fanfic.**

 **Flashbacks will be italicized, and will come in forms of dreams and things similar to that. This chapter is a good size chapter, so I hope you guys enjoy.**

 **Here's the third chapter**

 **Chapter 3: To Hogwarts**

Percy POV | Flashback

 _"Percy, you can do this." Annabeth said to me._

 _"Come on, Annabeth," I replied, sighing in exasperation. I tapped my pencil against the wooden table rapidly. "You know I can't do this. I can't control it as well as you can."_

 _"Yes, you can. You just aren't focusing." Annabeth said. She wasn't frustrated or impatient, which was helping a little bit. Just not enough._

 _It was freshman year in college, about half a year after the Second Giant War. Annabeth, Frank, Hazel and I had decided to go to New Rome University for the next four years. Although Frank was a bit younger than Annabeth and me, and Hazel was more youthful than us all, they had been able to get into the university because apparently saving the world from giants has some benefits. Frank had to abandon his praetorship and decided to pass it on to Jason, who although kept his word to jump between camps and give attention to minor gods, accepted the role._

 _"I haven't gotten this down for, like, five years now," I said. "What makes you think I'm going to get this now?"_

 _"Because we're not on quests hunting monsters right not." Annabeth reasoned. "We're in a dorm room in New Rome."_

 _"I know, but I still don't see anything." I exclaimed. I stared at a computer screen in front of me, trying to read Dante's Inferno, which was apparently read in high school. That didn't matter, though, as my dyslexia prevented me from being able to read anything not in Ancient Greek. My ADHD also kept me from staying on task for more than a couple minutes._

 _"Percy," she said from behind me. She gave me a peck on the cheek and I smiled. "If you can survive to go to college, you can learn to control your ADHD and dyslexia."_

 _"I'm telling you, I'm going to fail this part of the midterm!" I said. Midterm was coming up, and luckily this was the only portion of it that was not in my "native tongue". Since the Romans found out that Greek demigods existed, NRU allowed both Romans and Greeks to take tests in their either Greek or Latin._

 _"Percy," Annabeth sighed. I could tell she was tired from attempting to mentor me on how to control my disabilities. "Do you really think you'll never be able to get this down?" I could see the strained look on her face._

 _"You're a daughter of Athena, of course you would get this down. Me, I'm a son of Poseidon. How do you expect me to do this?" I asked. Annabeth smiled weakly._

 _"Not to mention you're a Seaweed Brain." Annabeth joked. I grinned and turned the computer off._

 _"I just have to hope that I'm going to do well in all the other categories." I said. "But with you as my teacher, I'm sure I'll do fine."_

 _"You know, you really know how to get yourself out of danger," she said, smiling. I shrugged. I took Annabeth's hand and led her to our bed. New Rome was nice enough to let us choose our roommates and everything in our rooms. Annabeth had spent a whole week designing our dorm._

 _"What if I fail?" I asked. "What happens if I fail the midterm?"_

 _"What do you mean?" Annabeth asked as we sat on the bed._

 _"I mean, if I fail-" Annabeth cut me off._

 _"You won't. You are not failing." Annabeth said._

 _"Okay, but if I do-"_

 _"You're not going to." Annabeth cut me off again. I sighed and chuckled, knowing she wouldn't let me finish. I looked at her and smiled._

 _"I love you." I said. It was cheesy, but I didn't care. She had set her mind on me not failing, but I knew that there was a chance. "You know I'm only doing this for you. Not anyone or anything else."_

 _"I know." Annabeth replied. She usually would be insulted by someone's lack of thirst for knowledge, but she seemed even happier by this comment._

 _"As long as you don't go away on a yearlong quest, I will happily go through college with you." I added jokingly._

 _"I'm the one who goes away all year?" she chuckled and said, "We should get some rest. Even if I'm not helping you with controlling your dyslexia, I'm gonna make sure you don't bomb the test and tutor you on the other subjects."_

 _"That's fine with me," I said, truly meaning it. "As long as I don't have to sit down all day." Annabeth thought for a moment._

 _"Fine. We'll do intervals. 45 minutes studying, 15 minutes doing anything else." she said._

 _"30 minutes not studying." I negotiated. She shook her head._

 _"15."_

 _"25." I countered._

 _"15."_

 _"20." I said. She just shook her head in response. I pouted and hung my head low._

 _"Fine," Annabeth said, seeing my face. "20. But you're taking me out for dinner tomorrow."_

 _"Sure." I said, shrugging. I wasn't going to get anything better than that._

 _"Okay, now we actually need to get some sleep. It's way past midnight." Annabeth said._

 _"Since when have we had a curfew?" I asked. Annabeth grinned and shook her head. She picked up a pillow from behind her and hit me in the arm._

 _"Since always, Seaweed Brain. Come on." Annabeth hit me with the pillow once more for good measure and I groaned._

 _College is amazing._

* * *

 _Percy POV_

I got up from my deep sleep and rubbed my head. That dream was weird. I got up from my bed and was actually able to use the shower and change my stingy clothes. Diagon Alley wasn't the only place I visited; I needed "muggle clothes" to wear.

After I showered and changed, I went to the door and found an envelope on the ground. Someone had slid it underneath. I sat down at my desk and picked up my wand, which was resting on the mahogany. I opened the envelope, making sure I didn't rip anything inside, and produced a paper that was folded in three sections. As I opened the letter to read it, I spun my wand and played with it to attempt to help me read the letter.

 _Dear Mr. Jackson_

 _On September 1, you will be taking the train to Hogwarts, where you will attend your first year at the school. You will have the same responsibilities, privileges, and recognitions as a fifth year, and Headmaster Dumbledore has decided to have you spend your first two months doing private lessons with a different teacher each week to catch up to the level that your peers are at._

 _The rest of the year will proceed as normal. You will bunk in the dormitories of your gender, and your year. Your house, which will be either Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, Slytherin, or Ravenclaw, will be your family for the rest of the time you stay here. You will be sorted in your house the first day that you arrive._

 _The Hogwarts train is on platform 9 ¾ at King's Cross Station in London._

 _Welcome to Hogwarts,_

 _Minerva Mcgonagall - Deputy Headmistress_

"Hades, what time is it?" I asked myself. I looked behind me at the clock to see that over half an hour had gone by, half an hour of me attempting to read a simple letter with two paragraphs. "I knew I should've tried to get it down when I had the chance."

I sat at the desk, holding the letter in one hand, fidgeting with my wand in the other, and thinking deeply. I never had caught up to Annabeth in quick comprehension.

"Sick, I got a couple of days to just hang out, what the hell am I going to do?" I asked myself after a few minutes passed by.. I tossed the letter onto the end of my non-made bed and walked out.

"Hey Tom!" I shouted at the bartender. The man was usually either cleaning glasses, or he was drinking behind his own bar. Today it was the former.

"How's it goin'?" He shouted back. I smiled and continued to walk out of the Leaky Cauldron.

"I'm good. See ya later tonight!" Tom nodded and waved as I exited. I needed to do something fun. Something to lighten my 90's experience in the UK. From a 10 out of 10 to a fucking 15.

"Wait." I said to myself. I paused and turned around. I went back into the Leaky Cauldron. "Hey Tom! Do you know anything I can do for fun around here?"

"As a Muggle or a Wizard?" Tom asked.

"I guess as a wizard, seeing as I have no normal currency." I said.

"Well, there's not much here, but you can go to Diagon Alley and shop for some things, like maybe a pet at the Eeylops Owl Emporium." Tom suggested.

"I've already done that, except for the pet part. What kind of pet should I get?" I asked. Having a pet would help not being lonely for the next couple months.

"Definitely not toads, they're slippery devils, they are. You'll spend most of your time looking for them. Rats are useless and I wouldn't recommend any cats…" Tom trailed off, listing why he wouldn't get different types of pets. "I'd say owls are the best, yeah. Great for sending letters, although some do peck ya at times."

"Really, owls?" I asked in disbelief. The immortal enemy of my father had cursed me one last time. Her divine animal was the most useful pet in the magical world. She just wouldn't leave me alone.

"I guess, I'll try and find one who suits me." I answered. "Bye again!"

"See ya." I walked out once more, this time with the intent of getting an owl.

I entered Diagon Alley and searched for the shop Tom had described. Once I found the correct building, I entered the building to be greeted with a number of different noises. Squacks and hoots and meows and all other animal noises filled my ears. It took all my willpower to not cover my ears. I stumbled to the owl section and braced for some sort of attack.

I wasn't wrong. The owls got even louder, which I didn't even think was possible. The owls attempted to get out of their cages, even attempting to reach their claws in between the bars and unlock their cages. Luckily, there seemed to be an enchantment of some sort so they wouldn't open.

"Zeus, you guys don't like me even when I'm, like, two years old." I said. I looked at the selection and wasn't surprised to say that most were attempting to attack me. But I saw one cage that didn't rattle with anger, and that was one in the far left. Stacked on a suitcase, a snow white owl rested in its cage, staring at me with it's big, chocolate brown eyes.

I smiled at the creature and walked to the front desk.

"How much for that one?" I asked, pointing to the pure white owl in the back. I took out a random amount of coins and set them on the desk in a scattered sort of pile. The lady at the desk smiled, and took some of the coins, leaving me to scoop the rest back into my pouch.

"She's different than the other ones. I don't know what it is, but she's special." the lady said.

"Thank you." I said. I went over the owls' cages and slowly made my way around those who didn't seem to like me very much. I kneeled next to the cage that contained my desired owl and smiled at it. I tuned out the screeches of the owls around me and reached a finger inside the cage. I stroked its wing and the owl didn't bite my finger off, which was a win for me.

"What should I call you?" I asked it as I picked the cage up and exited the owl emporium. I headed back to the Leaky Cauldron with many eyes staring at me. I tried to ignore them and just focused on the owl.

The owl was scanning the alley, as if she had never seen any of it before.

"Have you never seen the world?" I asked it. I got the sense the owl had been raised in that shop for her whole life. "You know what, I'll call you Zoe, because a girl I once met died for all the right reasons, and she changed my whole life. I feel like you can change my life just like she did."

It was weird speaking to animals that didn't speak back, but that was because the animals I spoke to were usually pegasi and sea creatures.

It then dawned on me that I hadn't yet named my wand, even after I had promised it an identity. I plunged my hand into my pocket and produced my wand, spinning it in the hand that wasn't cradling the cage.

"I'll call you Imiaimos." I said. Ancient Greek for "half-blood". It was something, and I didn't mind the identities of both the owl and the wand.

I entered the Leaky Cauldron and didn't see Tom at the bar. I went straight to my room and set Zoe cage on the desk. I returned my wand to my pocket and sat down on the creaky chair that faced the desk. I had made sure to close the door of my room behind, because what I was planning had a very good chance of going wrong.I slowly reached my hand out towards the cage and put my hand on the lock.

"Don't kill me." I said as I unlocked the cage and let the door slide open. Zoe cocked her head for one second before flying out of the cage and onto my bed frame. She hooted once before flying again, this time onto my arm. I stroked her head before it flew off and onto the windowsill.

"At least you can't leave the room." I said confidently, noting that the windows were sealed shut and there was no possible way to open them. The owl pecked at the windowsill, scratching the wood. I didn't mind it, I had a companion now.

Now to find something to do for a handful of days.

* * *

Percy POV

Finally, the day I had been waiting for. The reason why I chose to be sent to 1995 and become a "wizard". Yes, I definitely chose to do this. Totally not being sarcastic. Do not question this.

I had packed the night before, making sure not to forget anything. After I had finished packing, I really couldn't sleep. Nervousness and excitement had filled my body as I laid in my bed, just staring at the ceiling. I hadn't been this excited for something since I found out that having ADHD and dyslexia made me special in a way that didn't involve special needs. No offense to anyone with special needs, or anything.

Thinking back to a couple of days ago, it was a miracle at all that Imiaimos worked for me at all at Ollivander's. After all, the maid at the Leaky Cauldron had seen me using my demigod powers, not magic. Lucky me that Tom mistook it for accidental magic.

I had gotten next to no sleep, so I would probably take a snooze on the train later so I wouldn't pass out right as I went through the door to Hogwarts.

"See ya Tom." I said after I had transferred all my stuff to the front of the pub.

"Hope to see ya later Percy." Tom replied cheerfully.

"Yup, maybe next year in the summer." I waved. Tom waved back and went back to cleaning glasses. I had spent a lot of my days leading up to my departure just talking to him at the bar about anything and everything.

I lugged my suitcase in one hand while cradling Zoe in the other. I stood on the sidewalk for a minutes, just staring at Zoe. I had gotten to know her tendencies and comforts in the last couple of days. I hadn't truly let her outside, but she spent a lot of time on my shoulder. It was uncomfortable at first, but I appreciated the loyalty, which I had as my fatal flaw to this day.

Suddenly, A bright blue bus screeched to a halt in front of me from out of nowhere, lurching forward before steadying. A loud cackle came from within before an old man with square glasses hobbled out, a leather suitcase hovering in front of him.

"Oy! What you staring at? You comin'?" a heavily accented voice called from behind the elder.

"Me?" I asked, looking at both my sides to see if the thin, ghastly pale man was talking to somebody else.

"Yes, you! We at the Knight Bus usually pick people up who request so and are in important need of transportation, but seeing as we're already here." Ghost Man said.

"Okay, well then…" I said. As always, I hadn't really thought of how to get to my destination. Usually I had a giant ship or a school bus or a hot-wired car, or anything really. This time I had the Knight Bus. "I'll come."

"Alright then, hurry up." the man said. I nodded and the man helped me lift my suitcase into the bus while I went up the stairs carefully holding Zoe. "Come on, then. Where to?"

"King's Cross." I said. The man smiled widely, showing a missing front tooth and several crusty yellows.

"Goin' to Hogwarts, you are, eh? Alright then, King's Cross, mate!" the man shouted the last part to the driver, who I just noticed had a hanging zombie head next to him.

The driver looked back and nodded, giving a thumbs up before stepping on it and speeding forward. I flew to the back of the bus and Zoe made a noise that I had recently learned meant anger.

"The hell was that?" I asked, slowly getting up and steadying, pacing forward, gripping the beds that occupied the sides of the hallway. Not that it helped much, seeing as how the beds were moving around too.

"Whatchu mean?" Ghost Man asked. I looked out the window and saw that we were flying by every other cars. Of course we would be going past every muggle on the street.

"How fast are we going?" I asked.

"Fast enough so none of the Muggles can see us. We'll get to King's Cross in no time."

"How long is no time?" I asked.

"Ah, right about now." the bus halted suddenly and I was flung forward, holding onto Zoe for dear life as she again made her angry noise.

"Zeus…" I muttered. "Can't you warn me next time?"

"Not my fault mate, just be more aware next time."

"Kind of hard to know when we're going to stop when all I see outside are blurs of color."

"Ah, good point." the man said, tapping his chin. "Well then, off you go. We're here."

"Right, thanks." I said, waving goodbye as I got my suitcase once again and left the bus. "We're here Zoe, we're about to go to Hogwarts." Zoe hooted happily and I got off the sidewalk, knowing that having an owl as a pet was not normal in the 21st century, so it probably wasn't normal in the 1990's.

I walked into the train station and scanned the letter I had received from Hogwarts. Platform 9 ¾. I looked up and started down the station, the numbers increasing as I went farther.

"Wait a second." I said as I arrived at a pillar with the number 10 on it. I turned around, confused, and saw the number 9 behind me. There were no numbers in between, just like a normal train station. I stood awkwardly in the middle of the station, holding both an loud owl and a bag of my stuff that was bursting at the seams.

"Be safe, watch your back, and try to keep a low profile." I heard a deep, growling voice from my right, near the brick pillar with the 9 on it.

"Alastor! He's not an Auror going on a mission in a different country. It's only school." A female voice called. I looked to my right and saw that the woman had bubble-gum pink hair with all her clothes being black. The man she seemed to be talking to was scarred, as if he had been captured and tortured for more than a year. He had one leg missing, a cane, and a brutalized face with a chunk missing from his nose and a weird mechanical eye.

"Wizards are so weird." I muttered.

"Well come on then. We don't have all day." Alastor growled, shoving a young, dark haired boy to the pillar with the 9.

"The fuck?" I mumbled as the boy stumbled forward to the pillar before vanishing in the brick. This wasn't like the entrance to Hades' realm, where the brick split open or anything like that, it was still very much there.. The kid literally just disappeared in it. The rest of the group surrounding him followed suit and all disappeared within the brick. "Hades."

I walked forward to the brick when all of them had gone, and stretched my arm forward tentatively. I closed my eyes, expecting for my hand to meet a cold, solid surface. Instead, my hand met nothing. I opened my eyes to see that my hand had disappeared and my wrist was buried in the brick.

"People are crazy here. Honey, don't look at him." I heard an American accent from behind me and saw that a white male was covering the eyes of his probable partner.

"Huh." I said. There must've been something like the Mist that veiled the mortals eyes from seeing the supernatural.

I decided that seeing a kid just touching a brick pillar was weird enough, so I just muttered: "Fuck it." and I ran into the pillar. I went through and opened my eyes to find that the earlier group of people I had stared at was right in front of me.

"Don't worry, Harry. Just go before Mad-eye here starts sniffing for Death Eaters." the woman with pink hair said. A shaggy black dog barked loudly at the boy, Harry, and Harry smiled at the dog.

"Yeah, let's go Ron, Hermione." Harry said, referring to a red-headed boy and a brown-haired girl next to him that I had just noticed. Then again, there were others in the group that were more eye-catching.

As the group split, I took my eyes off of them for the first time in minutes and glanced over the train. It was nothing too special, a giant train painted red and gold with the words "Hogwarts Express" printed on it.

I entered one of the many open doors and looked around. The inside was amazing, with different compartments lining the hall as well as tables full of people just chatting about summer and other things. Most of the compartments were filled, as well as the tables.

After searching for a bit, I finally found an empty compartment and I slid in, closing the sliding door behind me. I stowed my bag and Zoe's cage on a shelf above the seats. I sighed, exhausted, and slumped on one of the two long, padded seats. As soon as I sat down, Zoe tweeted cheerfully and I smiled.

"Don't do anything too crazy." I said as I stood up and opened her cage. She chirped and quickly perched herself on the shelf above me. Even if she wasn't doing anything, her cage wasn't really her favorite place. "Goodnight, Zoe, even if it's the middle of the morning."

I stretched before resting my head on the wall and falling asleep quickly.

* * *

 **Next chapter will change perspectives, that's why I ended it where it did. Imiaimos should be correct, but I don't know. Those who are experts can take it up with me lol. I also wanted to make the owl for Percy snow white like Hedwig because I didn't like any other description. From now on I'll probably answer the questions of reviews at the end of each chapter, so here we go.**

 **anielsen33326:** The core 3 will all meet next chapter, trust me. I just wanted Ron to meet Percy first because why not

 **AAMC25:** That's my fault, I was brought to the attention earlier that the book was published in 2001, but Harry attended his fifth year in 1995. I changed the first but I guess I missed the second. I changed it though, so it should be alright now.


	4. Welcome Home

**This chapter is the longest yet. Hope you guys like it! I didn't break my promise and managed to squeeze a good amount in to it.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 4: Welcome Home**

 _Harry POV_

"See you guys." I said as Ron and Hermione waved back, both heading to do prefect duties. Ron turned around to quickly say: "Save us a compartment, will you mate?"

"Course." I replied as Hermione grabbed Ron by the shoulders and spun him back around. I smiled and headed down the aisle, searching for an empty compartment. None were empty, all being packed with people talking and laughing. I finally found one with a guy who was slouched in the corner, sleeping. I shivered.

 _Death Eaters and those who can hurt you come in all shapes and sizes_. Sirius's earlier words at Number 12, Grimmauld Place rang in my head like warning bells.

I shook off the feeling, and I slid the door open, entering quietly. I sat down opposite the boy and stared at him. There was no way he was a Death Eater, right? Draco Malfoy wasn't even a follower of Voldemort even though his parents were, at least not yet. A new student at an age higher than eleven or twelve years old was uncommon, and as far as I knew, no new student above that age had been accepted in.

The boy snored while he slept, and I think he even had a little drool leaking from his mouth. There was no way that this boy was a Death Eater or even a supporter of Voldemort. Just no way.

"Hey, thanks for finding a compartment." I heard the door slide open as Hermione and Ron came in view. "We didn't really do anything, just found out who the other prefects of our year are." Hermione said.

"Who's this guy?" Ron asked as soon as he shut the door behind him and sat down.

"I'm not sure." I replied simply. "I think he's new. Around our age."

"Maybe he's a Death Eater." Ron suggested as he sat next to me and Hermione plopped down across from us, a few feet from the boy. I almost laughed.

"Look a little closer at him." I said. Ron and Hermione fell silent as they leaned a bit closer to get a better look at the boy. After a couple seconds, Hermione sat up straight and laughed.

"You think he isn't a Death Eater because he drools?" Hermione asked hilariously. "I'm not saying I agree with Ron, but that's very unreasonable ."

"Hey, wait! I recognize him! I bumped into him in Diagon Alley, literally." Ron said.

"When?" I asked. Ron shrugged.

"When d'you think?" Ron asked. "When I was getting my new broom with my mum."

"Did you talk to him at all?" Hermione asked curiously. The boy chose this moment to snore loudly.

"Yeah. He's gonna be in our year. His name's Percy Jackson." Ron said. "He also said that he's American and he was going to get his wand when I bumped into him."

"American, huh. Why was he in London? Where were his parents?" Hermione asked. Ron shrugged once more.

"I dunno. I don't think he was with anyone." Ron answered.

"So he's from America, alone here in London, and he presumably just found out that he's a wizard." Hermione summed up.

"Should we wake him?" I asked.

"No, I don't think so." Hermione said. "If he's still sleeping at the end, we can wake him."

"Maybe it'll be like our third year." Ron suggested. "He'll wake up and save our lives like Lupin did."

"At least he's got clothes without holes in them." I said. Ron nodded. He sighed before arching his back and stretching.

"When's the trolley com-" Ron stopped before his eyes widened, and he pointing a big finger at a place above Hermione. "Look, Harry!"

"What?" I asked, tilting my head up and looking above Hermione where a sleeping, white owl was perched on a shelf.

"It's just like yours Harry!" Hermione screeched. "That owl is the same species as Hedwig!"

"I noticed, Hermione." I said. The owl may have been the same species, yet they didn't look all that similar. The owl belonging to Percy seemed to have a more oval shaped face compared to Hedwig's perfectly round head.

"We've got to wake him now." Ron said, staring at the owl.

"No, Ronald! That's so rude!" Hermione answered, furiously whispering. Ron shrunk into his seat and I smiled. It was fun to watch them bicker in a friendly matter. All until they started to shout at each other constantly. Then it got annoying.

"Anything from the trolley, dears?" the door slid open once more and the lady who usually rolled the trolley came into view.

"Sure." I said. I got one of everything, just like the first time I was on the train, just because we needed some fun in our lives to start out the school year. I piled the candy between me and Ron, who as soon as it hit the seat, picked something up and rapidly unwrapped it.

"Honestly, don't you ever not eat?" a voice came from the door that opened for, like the tenth time.

"Why are you guys here?" Ron asked with his mouth full of chocolate. Fred and George came in grinning from ear to ear. They sat down across from Ron and I, forcing Hermione to move right next to the still sleeping Percy.

"What?" Fred asked.

"Don't want to see your two favorite brothers?" George finished.

"Three Weasleys in one? Plus a mudblood and the lying Potter? Looks like disaster has struck!" the door opened _again_ and I almost threw my hands up in exasperation. The door seemed to be on a timer to open every five seconds.

"Malfoy." Ron almost snarled after swallowing all of his food. Draco Malfoy stood in the doorway ranked by Crabbe and Goyle behind him.

"Weasel." Malfoy actually snarled. He scanned the room and smirked. "All of you here, except the stupid little sister."

"What d'you want, Malfoy." I said, my legs itching with adrenaline building, ready for a fight.

"I'd watch your tongue, Potter. Seeing as I'm a prefect and our last exchange on this train didn't go so well for you." Malfoy said, his face changing quickly to an evil glare.

"I think you're remembering it wrong. If I recall correctly, you and your goons were defeated by a little rat." I replied, referring to Scabbers, or Peter Pettigrew, saving us in the first year. I glanced across from me to Hermione, Fred, and George. Hermione was watching the exchange carefully while Fred and George were gripping the edges of their seats, ready for a fight in the shape of either wand or fist.

"No stupid pet to save you this time." Malfoy said, smirking again. Crabbe and Goyle shifted behind him, reflecting Draco's expression.

"Think again." I said confidently, pointing to the owl above Hermione. It was a good moment to give attention to the animal, as the owl had woken up and was now staring at Malfoy with big, hazel-brown eyes.

"Don't think of anything, Malfoy. Don't want Hedwig to attack you and put your arm in a sling like Buckbeak, would you?" Hermione asked. She was bluffing, making it seem like the owl was loyal to Harry and would attack if necessary.

The owl screeched, making Malfoy flinch, fear flickering on his face.

"You're lucky this time, Potter." Malfoy said, swiftly turning around and pushing Crabbe and Goyle forward. Hermione closed the door and sighed.

"Thank Merlin, I thought you were going to do something stupid to add to the list of things that people should dislike you for." Hermione expressed. Fred and George leaned back in their seats, the white in their knuckles disappearing.

"Why's Hedwig up there, Harry?" George asked, looking up at the owl staring at Harry intently.

"It's not mine. It's his." I said, pointing to Percy in the corner.

"Blimey, I hadn't noticed him until now." Fred said, staring at the boy.

"That's fine, I really don't mind it." Percy stirred and sat up, making us all jump in surprise. Hermione almost yelped before covering her mouth. "Zoe is very intelligent, by the way. I'm guessing that the three who just visited weren't friends of yours?"

"Nope." Ron said.

"Oh, hi Ron! Good to see you again." Percy said. Ron smiled and nodded back. "I'm hoping that none of the people in this compartment are serial killers?"

"Um…" Ron stuttered.

"I'm kidding. Don't worry. I'm sure you all are very nice people." Percy said, scanning us all. "I'm Percy, by the way, Percy Jackson. I'm going into the fifth year. You're really dramatic, you know?" Percy added bluntly, facing me. I blushed at the last comment.

"When did you wake up?" Ron asked. I think we were all wondering the same thing.

"I heard Weasel and I woke up." Percy said. "Kind of weird, but I won't complain. I just needed a little bit of sleep. Who was that blonde kid?"

"Draco Malfoy. Not a very nice person." I said.

"That's an understatement." Fred said. Percy smiled.

"Sorry, I don't think I got all of your names? Except Ron and 'Potter'." Percy said, imitating Draco and putting air quotes around the my last name. I held back a laugh. The mockery of Malfoy wasn't half bad.

"Sorry, I'm Harry Potter. That's Hermione Granger. And Ron's siblings Fred and George." I said. Percy's eyes landed on the twins, who were smiling mischievously all of a sudden.

"Twins, huh?" Percy said, smiling. He raised his arm to a horizontal and Zoe, his owl, floated down. She transferred to his thigh and Percy stroked her head. "I knew brothers who seemed just like you, though they seemed like twins a lot of the time."

"There's nobody like us." Fred challenged with a smile.

"I don't doubt that you're one of a kind, but the brothers I knew, Travis and Connor Stoll, were so like you." Percy said, returning the smile.

"Oh, really?" George asked.

"Please, pray tell why you think that?" Fred asked.

"Because they were a pain in the ass." Percy smirked. Fred and George nodded acceptingly. "But they were also good at doing their job when they needed to."

"Ah, you lost us there, mate." Fred clicked his tongue in a distasteful way.

"Yeah, we got, what was it, three OWLs combined?." George said. "Standardized tests, Percy. We passed three of 'em." Fred emphasizes the last part by putting up his hand with three fingers pointed out.

"Really? Only three?" Hermione asked, seeming almost insulted.

"You know, all of you guys actually remind me of people I used to know." Percy said. "And not just because of your appearance."

"Really?" Hermione asked, unconvinced. "From just a few minutes we remind you of other people?"

"Yup." Percy shrugged. "You seem pretty smart, you could probably do it with certain people. I've had to read people over the years so I don't die by a random person."

"What?" Ron asked.

"Never mind." Percy said, waving his hand in dismissal. "The point is, I've learned to trust my gut on things like this along with everything else."

"Who do we remind you of?" Ron asked, suddenly back to eating all the candy between Ron and I.

"Well you, Ron, you remind me of…" Percy tapped his chin. "You remind me of a girl named Clarisse La Rue."

"Ah man! I don't wanna be a girl!" Ron threw up his arms, sending the candy in his lap flying.

"Why?" Percy asked, cocking his head.

"Well… I-I-" Ron stuttered.

"It's fine. I get it. Anyways, that just proves my point. Clarisse was a fighter, and she was also one who was always on a polar scale. You either hated her or you loved her. She could also be a dumbass at times."

"I'm not a dumbass!" Ron said.

"Well…" I said. I smiled at Percy's "my-point-exactly" expression.

"Fine." Ron said.

"What about me?" I asked. I was curious, genuinely.

"You, sir, almost remind me of myself." Percy said. He stroked Zoe thoughtfully as she went back to being asleep. "But you seem really dramatic, so I'll have to go with Jason Grace."

"Sounds like a nice enough guy." I commented. Percy nodded.

"One of the nicest guys I've ever known. But like I said, he had a tendency to be a dramatic." Percy replied.

"What about me?" Hermione asked nervously. Percy tapped his chin.

"Annabeth. Annabeth Chase. She was a genius, and beautiful. She was my girlfriend." Percy said, sadness flickering in his eyes for just a moment. I still caught it though.

"What happened? Is she why you moved to London?" Hermione asked.

"You could say so." Percy said. He avoided eye contact with everyone. Fred and George just stared at Percy. "Although I didn't move here on purpose. It was just a lucky accident that led me to be here, but I found out that I was a wizard! So that's fun." Percy said, lightening up the mood.

"Why don't we change the subject?" Ron suggested. For once, it was a wise decision, he just didn't form it in the best way. Nevertheless, Hermione looked at him, surprised, and nodded appreciatively.

"Yes, let's." Hermione stated. "OWLs are coming up for us, so what do you plan on doing to catch up, Percy?"

"I don't know. I honestly don't know if I'm gonna catch up. I just got a letter earlier saying that for the first few months I'm gonna have private lessons." Percy replied.

"Well, we don't really care about OWLs, we believe academics is not what will make us happy." George said.

"Yeah, that shows in what you already said. Three OWLs combined." Ron scoffed.

"Can you be productive when you want to?" Percy asked, raising his eyebrow. "Like, have you ever found something on your own or done something without getting distracted?"

"Well…" Fred trailed. He smiled and didn't even look at George before stuffing a hand in his pocket and producing a candy. Great, it was probably one of their untested new products.

"Wanna find out?" George asked. Percy grinned and shook his head.

"Not really. I'm not stupid." Percy said. He stretched his arm out anyway and Fred, surprised, dropped the candy in his hand. "I'm still not eating this, but if you all hate this Draco Malfoy so much, I have an idea."

"What do you mean?" I asked. Hermione stared at him curiously as he got up, Zoe fluttered off his shoulder to where he formerly sat, and he walked out.

"He's gonna give the toffee to Draco." Hermione said begrudgingly. Fred smiled.

"He's gonna be a great protege." George said, nodding his head.

"He's gonna get himself a black eye." Hermione exclaimed.

"I don't know, Hermione. If anyone's getting a black eye, it'll be Draco. Did you see how big he was? At least, compared to all of you." Ron said, referring to his tall and lanky stature. Hermione blushed and looked down.

"Don't be silly, Ron. Of course I didn't notice." Hermione answered. Ron rolled his eyes and we waited for Percy to get back.

"So what do you guys think of him?" I asked. I was curious of their opinions, as I was already set that he seemed fair enough. He was funny and he seemed nice.

"I think he's bloody brilliant." Fred said.

"I agree. And if he comes back saying that Malfoy's tongue grew to the size of a boat, I'll respect even more." George added.

"It's interesting that he's from America, and he's 15 years old. Curious, too." Hermione said.

"How do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, I get he's from America and all, but still, why did he just find out he can do magic? That doesn't make sense." Hermione said.

"I don't really think it matters." Ron said, shrugging. "I'll just be surprised if he can catch up to us at all."

"Yeah." I replied. Percy would be an interesting change to Hogwarts, especially if he turned out to be a Gryffindor.

"Well, that was interesting." Percy said after coming back. He sat down and sighed, smiling.

"What happened?" Ron asked. Percy shrugged and looked up to see Zoe awake, perched yet again on the shelf.

"I don't know. I just went to his compartment and threw the candy onto his lap." Percy said. "We'll see soon enough if he ate it."

"If he doesn't I'm sure Crabbe or Goyle will." Ron said. "Your probably right. We'll find out soon enough."

"In the meantime, we're gonna reach Hogwarts soon, so we should change in a little bit." Hermione pointed out. I nodded and looked out the window. It had already begun to get dark outside.

"We'll see you guys at the Sorting. Right now we've got some people to catch up with." Fred said.

"See ya." Percy said, waving. George grinned and waved back before the twins stood up and got out of the compartment.

"See you soon, Perce." Fred said as they walked out, already giving him a nickname.

"So, where do we get changed?" Percy asked.

"We have toilets." Hermione said. Percy nodded.

"I didn't see them when I came in. I'll see you guys in a bit, or maybe not at all, depending if I find them or not." Percy said, using the seat as a boost to grab his suitcase and fishing out his robes.

* * *

 _Percy POV_

The robes were uncomfortable, to say the least. I preferred jeans or shorts to anything, but I guess robes were not optional.

I put Zoe back in her golden cage and took her and my luggage out of the train. I was alone now, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were gone by the time I had gotten back to the compartment, but I didn't mind. I would probably see them soon.

I inhaled deeply as I walked across a dirt path in the black night, my vision only lit up by the floating lanterns on each side of the road. Every time I exhaled, I could see my own breath in the cold, dewy night. Frost covered the tips of every blade of grass, and as I got farther and farther down the road, the grass slowly disappeared to be replaced with stone and dirt.

"Hey, Percy! Over here!" Harry called me over from a carriage pulled by a gray, skeletal horse. The creature was similar to a pegasus, but looked with a ripped wings and dark bones instead of fur or skin.

"What are these?" I asked, pointing to the winged horses carrying the carriage. Harry looked over and shrugged, while Ron and Hermione peeked their heads over the other side of the carriage.

"You too?" Ron asked. I cocked my head in confusion as I advanced to the carriage and piled Zoe and my luggage onto the luggage of Ron, Harry, and Hermione.

"What do you mean?" I asked, leaping onto a seat besides Harry. Surprisingly, I didn't trip over my own robes, the odd style of clothing actually helping me keep warm in the chilly weather.

"Harry seems to think something's carrying the carriage." said Ron.

"What's so wrong about that?" I asked, still confused.

"It's very clear that the carriage is moving on its own, like every other time we've ridden it." Hermione answered. I bit my lip and glanced at Harry. He shrugged; he didn't seem to care enough to argue, so I didn't either.

"Whatever." said Harry. The carriage began to move and the I awaited the great sight of Hogwarts. Tom had told me all about how Hogwarts is one of the greatest architectural feats in the wizarding world. "Anyways, we still haven't addressed who the new DADA teacher will be."

"Well, we know Moody isn't coming back." Ron said. "I still don't get why Lupin couldn't teach us again."

"Because, Ron, he has things to do now that he's in the Order of the Phoenix." Hermione said, whispering the last part.

"The what?" I asked. Confusion seemed to be a recurring theme now that I was "magical". Hermione cursed under her breath and as I glanced from her to Ron to Harry, I didn't make any eye contact.

"Nevermind." Hermione muttered. I shugged after a few seconds. As long as nobody stabbed me in the back - literally - I was fine with them having their secrets. I was keeping mine, so I wouldn't be hypocritical in saying nobody else could keep their own.

I pretended to ignore the comment, and instead chose to focus on the disappearing mist, forcing a giant castle into my view. I could barely see lights illuminating the windows and towers of the castle. A giant field also came into view as we cleared the trees.

"Wow." I muttered, exasperated. I felt Harry's smile next to me. "That is something else." Annabeth had taught me to appreciate great works of art and architecture, and Hogwarts certainly qualified as a great work of art. "This is nothing like I've ever seen." New Rome was certainly beautiful, but Hogwarts was just in a completely different category. You couldn't possibly compare the two.

"I don't even know why you're here, actually." Hermione commented.

"Say what?" I asked.

"Usually, students coming into Hogwarts go on boats over the lake." Hermione said. "Then they come in once everyone's settled and they get sorted."

"I guess I'm just special." I suggested sarcastically. Ron squinted and the sight of the redhead peering at me almost made me fall out of the carriage.

"What makes you so special?" Ron asked. I chuckled and took my wand out from my robe pocket.

"Have you not met me, Ron? What isn't special about me?" I smiled, now twirling the wand in my dominant hand. Ron concealed his smile by directing his attention to Hogwarts. "Alright, so I've already gotten a brief rundown on the houses, but what exactly do they mean?" Tom had again given me a little insight on what the houses were, but I had no idea if they were like how the Romans sorted people, or the Greeks, or maybe even neither.

"Hufflepuff's seen as the worst house, with their traits being patience and loyalty." Harry said.

"Forgot that Slytherin existed, mate." Ron said. "Those are the worst. Every wizard who's gone into that house hasn't not turned bad."

"Okay then, Hufflepuff shouldn't be too bad, even if it is seen as the worst. And from what I'm hearing, Slytherin isn't something that I would want to be apart of." I said. Hufflepuff contained my fatal flaw, so it couldn't be the worst to me.

"Ravenclaw contains the intelligent and crafty and creative." Hermione added. "Not to toot my own horn, but I'm surprised I didn't get into Ravenclaw."

"What house are you in then?" I asked.

"We're all in Gryffindor." Harry answered. "The house of the brave and daring."

"A little arrogant, Potter." I said, perfectly mocking Draco Malfoy. Harry chuckled along with Ron while Hermione attempted to keep her composure.

"So basically any but Slytherin, and I should be fine." I said. "Though I'm pretty sure I'm not going to get into Ravenclaw."

"Why not? I've heard that you don't have to be really intelligent in a book smart sort of way. It can be street smart too. Like, practical things." Hermione explained.

"Well…" I rubbed my neck in preparation for embarrassment. Another eternity of teasing was waiting for me. "Back home, I kind of earned the nickname of Seaweed Brain." I wasn't going to give any background to the name, but I wanted to open up a little bit.

"Seaweed Brain?" Hermione asked, raising her eyebrows. Her lips upturned into a slight smiled.

"Yeah, let's not get too deep into that." I commented.

"Well, we're here anyways." Harry pointed out. I nodded and jumped onto the ground, the dirt grinding under my boots. I picked up Zoe and my stuff before walking along the gravel path up to the castle, trailing a few feet behind Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

The entrance to the castle was a pair of giant wooden doors, which were already opened. Kids of all ages were flooding into the castle. The students were wearing what I guessed were house colors. Red and gold, bronze and blue, yellow and black, and silver and green were the color combinations that were in view. These colors were printed on scarves, robe emblems, suitcases, and all sorts of other objects.

"Where do we sit?" I asked as I stepped off of the dirt onto the stone. As soon as the sole of my boot hit the stone, I felt different. I felt better and happier.

"You should probably just sit with us." Harry suggested. I shrugged and agreed with Harry. "Here. Let's put all of our stuff here." Harry motioned the three of us toward an area with stack of suitcases, a red and gold banner floating above.

"You know, it would be a real bummer if I didn't end up with you guys." I said. Harry smiled. "But not because I think of you guys as friends. No. My stuff's going to be with you, and it would be a pain in the ass to get it if I end up in Hufflepuff."

"Thanks. Love you too." Harry said. I nodded and gave him a thumbs up.

"Let's go, guys. Hurry up." Ron said. "I'm hungry."

"When are you not hungry, Ronald." Hermione said. She rolled her eyes and I smiled at the friendly teasing. It wasn't unlike Camp Half-Blood or New Rome.

Another set of giant wooden doors lead to a giant, rectangular room. The ceiling was veiled by a cloudy and dark sky, the walls lit up by torches. Four wooden tables parallel to the long sides of the room held hundreds of plates, bowls, cups, and utensils. Another wooden table sat perpendicular to the rest, and higher to everyone else. At this table, adults were lined up in seats, presumably being the teachers. An elderly man with a giant beard sat at a gold podium, waiting for everyone to sit down.

"The Great Hall. We eat here for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day. The tables are sorted by houses." Hermione explained."That's Dumbledore. The Headmaster." We sat down in the middle of the rightmost table, me being between Ron and Hermione, and Harry on the end next to Ron.

"Headmaster?" I asked, confused yet again. Hermione sighed.

"This is why British English is better than the English in the states." Hermione stated. "The Headmaster for us would be the principal to you. And those are the professors, who would be your teachers."

"Thanks." I said. "Language barriers suck."

"Yup." Hermione agreed.

"Attention please!" A feminine yet confident and powerful voice rang through the hall. All the students were seated by this point, and everyone was dead silent. All the attention was on the "Headmaster".

"Thank you, Professor Mcgonagall." Dumbledore said, nodding to the old lady in acknowledgement. "Today is the first day of Hogwarts, and I would like to welcome both the returning and the new join us this wonderful evening. Before the Sorting begins, may I introduce the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, the wonderful Dolores Umbridge!"

"That's the woman at my hearing. The one who supported Fudge." Harry whispered. I scanned the table that held the professors and found a woman standing up in all pink. She looked like a descendant of Aphrodite who had been cursed by her own mother.

"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore." she said, coming around the table and taking the Headmaster's place at the podium.

"She's a bitch." I muttered.

"How do ya know?" Ron asked.

"I can just tell." I said. "She was at Harry's hearing, so he can vouch for me. Wait a sec, you were at a hearing? Why were you in court?"

"It's a long story, but yeah, she's not a very nice person." Harry said. Hermione glared at our conversation and for a second I felt like Annabeth was chastising me all over again.

"Shh!" Hermione said furiously. Umbridge seemed to be giving a speech. I didn't pay attention, though. I had never been good at analyzing complex passages on paper or orally. I instead chose to practice fidgeting with my wand. It was a different length and weight compared to Riptide, so I had to get used to it.

"What's she saying, guys?" I asked, not even lifting my head to watch the pink toad.

"I have no idea." Ron replied.

"Me neither." Harry agreed. Hermione angrily shushed us once more and we fell silent. Her glare was just as threatening as Annabeth's which was a little odd since their eyes were so different. I sighed, bored out of the mind, waiting for the witch's long speech to and. My eyes lazily moving from table to table, witch to wizard.

My eyes finally landed on what seemed to be the Slytherin table, students scattered on the long table sporting green and silver clothing. Draco Malfoy was rapidly picking up napkins, wiping his tongue ferociously like his life depended on it.

"Hey, look over there." I nudged Ron and pointed to Draco. Ron snorted, seeing the aftermath of the candy that Malfoy had eaten.

"Serves him right." Ron said. Hermione looked at us and simply rolled her eyes. She had just given up. I felt a little guilty, but then again, I really didn't."

"Finally, I thought she was going to go on forever." Harry exclaimed, throwing his arms up. I finally looked up to the podium. Umbridge was retreating back to her seat while Dumbledore, looking amused, took her place at center stage.

"Thank you, Professor Umbridge, for that piece of enlightenment. Now, we have one more thing before the feast. It is time for the Sorting!" Dumbledore shouted excitedly. He waved his wand in a fluid motion and the podium vanished. In its place appeared a stool with a dusty and worn out hat. "When Professor Mcgonagall calls your name, please come up to the chair to be sorted into your House. This moment will determine the next seven years of your life at Hogwarts."

"That's not intimidating or anything." I muttered sarcastically.

"Don't worry. It wasn't that bad for us." Harry said. Professor Mcgonagall began to call out names. It seemed to be in alphabetical order by last name. The hat's voice was deep and scratchy, yet it echoed in the hall and every time it shouted a house's name, that table would erupt in cheers.

"Speak for yourself, mate. I was terrified." Ron said.

"Not helpful, Ron." Hermione said. I shook my head and smiled. "I'm sure you'll do fine, Percy."

"Thanks. You know, a summer camp that I went to had this kind of sorting system. But we had more houses and we didn't have a talking hat.." I explained.

"Was it anything like this? Besides the houses and sorting." Harry asked. I shook my head, grinning.

"Nope, not even close." I said.

"Percy," Hermione tapped my shoulder and I turned my attention to her. She turned her head to point me towards the Sorting Hat. "Go." she mouthed.

"Fine." I said. Apparently Professor Mcgonagall had called my name. I hesitantly got up from where I sat and slowly made my way to the stool. I kept my head down, but glanced at Professor Mcgonagall quickly, making eye contact for a split second before looking away.

"Mr. Jackson here is a special case. He is 15 years of age, and as he has lived in America for the majority of his life, he has not been exposed to our extended hand. His hospitality from all of you will be appreciated greatly. Please, treat him as you would your own family." Dumbledore's voice resonated within me, giving me a sense of safety.

"Thank you, sir." I replied to Dumbledore, looking him directly in those sparkly, blue eyes. He nodded back in assurance, and I spun around to back up onto the stool. The wood felt warm, probably from all the other first years sweating their pants off on the same stool.

"Ahhh, now this is interesting." the Sorting Hat said. I rolled my eyes.

"You're looking at my memories, aren't you?" I asked quietly, trying to make it so only the talking hat could hear.

"Yes, how peculiar. Nobody like you has ever worn me on their head." the hat replied.

"Can you see what I'm thinking, too?" I asked at the same decibel.

'I don't want anyone to know. At least not yet.' I thought clearly.

"Very well." the hat said. "Well, I see that you aren't the brightest, you let your instincts guide you. You're impulsive, and yet you seem to be bitter and angry. Loyalty, there's much loyalty within your bones."

"Can you hurry up? This is getting kind of weird." I whispered harshly.

"Very well." the Sorting Hat said again, calmly and slowly. "You could fit in many houses, but the best I see you in is GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted, almost blasting my eardrums to smithereens.

The table I was just at exploded in applause, deafening out any other noise. I robotically walked back to where I previously sat. Although the emotions I felt now - joy, pride, etc. - were the same as when I got claimed by Poseidon, how I felt now was suppressed and numb compared to when I was a teen. Still, it felt nice to be somewhat recognized.

"Nice of you to join us mate!" I heard before I got a heavy slap in the back. I looked behind me to see Fred and George laughing their heads off.

"Hades, if they're going to actually be just like Travis and Connor…" I sat down between Ron and Harry, Ron clapping me on the back just as hard as one of the twins, maybe even harder.

"Good job Perce." Ron said.

"Yeah, thanks. I didn't do anything though." I said. "Thank gods I didn't have to move my stuff." I joked.

"To those who have just been sorted, enjoy your stay at Hogwarts and be sure to make new friends in your House! Now, let the feast begin!" Dumbledore shouted, grabbing everyone's attention. He waved his wand, similarly to how he made the Sorting Hat appear, and the empty dishes were now full with foods both plain and exotic.

"Cool." I muttered. Ron began to pile everything within reaching difference into his plate, scarfing all of it before repeating again and again and again. Harry threw an arm around my shoulder, staring me in the eyes and smiling widely.

"Welcome home, Percy."

* * *

 **Yup, a little long, but if you guys like the length, let me know in the reviews! Flashbacks won't occur in every chapter, I'll just put them in when they are contextually needed.**

 **TeddyBearGuru97: Thanks! I'm proud of what I'm doing right now as well!**

 **anielsen3326: Yup! Hope you liked the chapter. Still more interactions to come. Many, many more.**


	5. The Beginning

**Next chapter, we'll probably get into the juicy stuff and dig into the plot some more. But for now, this will have to do. Chapter 5, and I haven't quit yet. Let's go!**

* * *

 _Chapter 5: The Beginning_

 _Percy POV_

"You can actually eat as much as I can." I said in disbelief. Ron was eating like a viking, only stopping to breathe when he stopped to pick up more food. "Correction, you can eat _more_ than I can."

"Every time we get back, it seems his appetite gets larger and larger." Harry said. I nodded and leaned back, already stuffed completely. Harry and Hermione had finished a while ago, both merely novices in the art of eating until you want to die.

"I find that hard to believe." I challenged. Ron ignored us, still stuffing his face with assorted meats. "You have a limit at some point, right?"

"Not for him." Hermione said disapprovingly.

"When do we leave, anyway? That should stop him from eating." I said. Harry nodded. I looked up to the head table filled with professors, and saw multiple laughing and smiling and eating. Some seemed a little gloomy while others were a bit drunk. Some were stone-frozen with no shown emotions while others were just smiling, staring at the four tables filled with joy.

"Doesn't seem to be ending soon." Harry said, following my gaze. Dumbledore suddenly stood up from his giant chair in the middle of his long table, and smiled.

"The feast is ending! Follow your prefects to your dorms, and have a good night's rest!" Dumbledore announced. "You will receive your schedules tomorrow morning here in the Great Hall at breakfast!"

"Wrong, Harry. It seems we are going right now." I said. Harry rolled his eyes and got up from the table, tossing a used napkin onto his plate.

"Come on Ron, let's go." Hermione said. He continued to eat, slowly but surely getting up.

"Okay, come on buddy." I said, grunting as I lifted up Ron by his shoulders, forcing him to drop a forkful or treacle tart.

"Why?" he complained, groaning as the rest of the table followed suit, and headed towards their respective dorms. Prefects began to shout their houses' names.

"Ron! We have to lead Gryffindor to the common room!" Hermione said, slapping Ron's arm.

"Okay, okay! Merlin, woman. Give me a break will you?" Ron asked through a mouthful of dessert, rubbing his arm in pain.

Hermione dragged Ron to the entrance/exit of the Great Hall, yelling our house name and leading everyone to the dorm room.

"Let's go Percy. The common room is amazing, and all the fifth year boys share the same dorm." Harry said.

"Okay. I gotta feed Zoe as soon as we get there." I replied. Harry nodded and we followed Ron and Hermione.

We walked in silence, burnt out from our festivities in the Great Hall. The people around us were not so tired, chatting loudly. The "first day" at Hogwarts hadn't been so bad, in fact, it had been pretty good. It could only get worse from here.

* * *

I laid in my bed, trying to sleep after all of the festivities of the first day. I was burnt out, yet while everybody else was snoring with their curtains strung around them, I was trying to get comfortable. I was shifting every minute, and it wasn't that the bed was rock hard or as softer than a marshmallow.

It was dead silent in the fifth years' dorm room, and whenever I straightened my legs, my feet were cold, being an inch off the frame of the bed.

A loud snap broke the silence, and I felt something weigh down the end of my bed. I quickly sat up, putting my hand to the nightstand next to me where Riptide rested.

"Sir, I is not here to hurt you!" a squeaky voice came from between my legs. I squinted, not being able to see anything in the pitch blackness. My hand went to the lamp on my nightstand and I switched it on, illuminating the figure in front of me.

"The hell?" I yelped. A wrinkled creature about 2 feet tall wearing nothing but a dirty cloth and socks was on my bed. Surprisingly, nobody beside me stirred awake from my increase in volume.

"Sorry for alarming you, good sir." The creature whispered in a raspy voice, Bowing as he said so.

"It's fine, I guess." I said warily, still not sure what he was. Or she. Or maybe neither. "What are you?"

"I'm a house elf, Mr. Jackson. My name is Dobby!" the figure said excitedly. I peered closer at its big, green eyes that were not unlike mine.

"Okay Dobby, how do you know my name and what do you want?" I asked. The house elf wasn't exactly interrupting anything, but I still didn't expect anything or anyone to be on my bed that evening.

"Headmaster Dumbledore sends Dobby! He says to bring Mr. Jackson sir to his office immediately." Dobby explained. I sighed. I had already done something to get the attention of the head of the school. In record time as well.

"Okay, just let me-" I was cut off by Dobby snapping his fingers, creating a blinding flash of green light.

""Greetings, Mr. Jackson. I see Dobby here found you. My apologies if he interrupted your sleep." Dumbledore said. I didn't actually know is first name, now that I thought about it. I blinked a few times before I could see something other than the color green. "How was your first day here at Hogwarts?"

"It was pretty good, Professor Dumbledore." I greeted the Headmaster. He nodded at me and straightened in his seat behind his desk.

"It's fine, sir." I replied.

"Respect is a most gratifying trait in any person, but there is no need for you to call me sir. Professor, or simply Dumbledore will be proficient." Dumbledore said.

"Okay." I said. I stood in what I presumed was his office, in my shorts and a t-shirt. "Why exactly am I here, Professor? At midnight?"

"I know that you have lived most of your life in America, and I know that even though you are new to this school, I fully intend for you to be at a fifth year level most of this school year." Dumbledore said. His voice and tone was that of a mentor, similar to Chiron.

"Um… I got a letter that said I would have private lessons for some of the year." I said. The letter was stuffed somewhere in my luggage.

"Yes. Here is your schedule for the first part of this year. Once your professors see fit that you are ready to move on, you will join the rest of your house in classes." Dumbledore said, opening a drawer in his desk and pulling out a piece of parchment with printed times, names, classrooms, etc.

"Thank you." I said, accepting the letter. I skimmed the letter, my focus turning to the first line on the paper. It said that my first teacher would be Professor Severus Snape, at 10'AM. Which was probably first thing after breakfast. It also gave me the room number of the professor. There was one flaw I saw, though.

"You have something on your mind, dear boy. Don't be afraid to speak your mind in front of me." Dumbledore advised. I nodded.

"Well, won't my private lessons get in the way of the lessons with all the houses? Like, doesn't Professor Snape here have a class to teach with 30 students or so?" I asked. Dumbledore smiled.

"The professors who are teaching you have accommodated and changed their schedules for you. It isn't that big of a deal, my boy. All of the staff have agreed, and the professors have the same amount of classes." Dumbledore replied. "Have a good night Percy, and I hope you make a good impression on your new professors." Dumbledore said, effectively ending the conversation

"Goodnight, professor." I said, looking around to see Dobby appear out of nowhere by my side. He smiled meekly at me before taking my hand and snapping. Knowing what was going to happen, I closed my eyes for a couple of seconds before opening them too find myself next to my bed. No house elf or headmaster in sight. Just me, my bed, and the rest of the dorm.

I sighed, vowing to take a look at my schedule tomorrow at breakfast. Jumping into my bed, I pulled the covers over me and got into a comfortable position. Not needing to toss or turn, I went to sleep, ready for the day ahead.

* * *

 _Percy POV | Flashback_

" _You know, in hindsight, I'm probably lucky that I passed at all." I said. Annabeth sighed while Frank and Hazel laughed. We had received our midterm results in our last class, and we were walking to our adjacent dorms over the campus grass._

" _What do you mean lucky?" Annabeth asked, raising an eyebrow at me._

" _No offense, or anything, but I had no chance at passing the portion with resisting my ADHD and dyslexia. I had no shot. The other parts, you taught me well enough." I commented._

" _Well enough?" Annabeth asked, raising her eyebrow even higher._

" _Okay, you taught me, who sucks at everything having to do with school, and I passed a test because of your teaching." I said. Annabeth seemed satisfied with the answer, and decided to slap my arm rather than argue with me any further._

" _How did you guys do?" I asked, changing the topic to Frank and Hazel. They almost definitely didn't fail, as they turned out to be pretty good students in the beginning of the year with actual patience._

" _Considering I don't have ADHD or dyslexia, I aced that part. And everything else was fine." Frank commented._

" _I did okay on everything. I passed." Hazel said simply. I turned to Annabeth and smirked._

" _I'm guessing you didn't even get close to failing?" I asked mockingly. Annabeth shook her head and smiled._

" _Sure." she said._

" _Well, I still have half a year to fail or get expelled, so wanna get fro-yo for our short lived victory?" I asked. I shrugged, making the textbooks in my backpacks jerk from side to side._

" _I'm lactose intolerant." Frank brought up. I sighed._

" _It's fine, Frank. If you die, it's on me." I said. Hazel shook her head and put an arm around Frank's._

" _We can get it dairy free." Hazel said. Frank bit his lip for a moment before nodding his head in agreement._

" _Do you guys know a place?" Frank asked. I immediately looked at Annabeth, who shrugged._

" _You guys do know that there's something called the Internet, right?" Annabeth asked, pulling out her phone, typing quickly._

" _Let's put our backpacks at our dorms, first." I said, opening the door to our building._

" _Let's take the elevator." Hazel said, pointing to the red door that lead to a_ very _long flight of stairs._

" _Good idea." Frank agreed, pushing the "up" button next to one of the three steel elevators._

" _Let's see…" Annabeth muttered while we waited. "There's one not too far from here. About five minutes."_

" _What's their review?" I asked, stepping into the now open elevator in front of us._

" _It says 3.7 out of 5." Annabeth said, grouping into the elevator with Hazel and Frank._

" _That's not bad." I remarked._

" _Well." Annabeth said. I looked at her in the eyes. "It's good enough. We'll go. Meet at the entrance in, like, 10 minutes?"_

" _Sounds good." Hazel responded. The elevator began to rise, which gave me slight anxiety. It may seem silly that I've faced armies of monsters yet I'm scared of riding in elevators, but maybe it was just the experience at St. Louis. My first quest had me going up an elevator at the St. Louis Arch ending up with me falling down to the water. And don't even get me started with the Doors of Death. Not the greatest experiences._

 _I held on to the rail next to me until we were all the way up, the elevator jerking violently before stopping completely._

" _Jeez." I muttered, the doors sliding open. I almost ran out of the elevator, ready to get as far away from it as possible. From now on, I would take the stairs every time. Even if they did take a lot more time and give me a slight leg workout._

" _Meet you guys down there." Hazel said as we went our separate ways._

" _Okay. See you guys." Annabeth said, turning around for one last moment before I fished out a key ring from my pocket and unlocked the door to our dorm room._

" _We can probably just fling our backpacks onto the bed." I remarked. Annabeth shook her head._

" _Then what's the point of the 10 minutes?" she asked. I shook my head, setting my backpack down at the foot of our shared bed._

" _I don't know." I replied. "You're the one who suggested it."_

" _We need money." Annabeth said. I scratched my head. We were pretty much broke. School wasn't cheap and spare money didn't lie around on our floor on a daily basis._

" _But we don't have any money." I stated plainly. Annabeth sighed and shook her head in disappointment._

" _Yes, we actually do." Annabeth said._

" _We do?" I asked, searching for an answer yet again._

" _Don't you remember?" Annabeth asked. "Your mom gave us some extra money for this school year. She told us that we needed to get some sort of job soon, though, so we could have a consistent amount of income."_

" _Um, I don't remember. Maybe she was just talking to you? My mom probably wouldn't trust me to remember that sort of information."_

" _Nope, she was talking to both of us." Annabeth confirmed. The memory was too far gone, I wasn't gonna get it back anytime soon._

" _Well, maybe we get a job at the froyo place that we're going to. Who knows, maybe we'll find it enjoyable." I suggested._

" _Maybe." Annabeth contemplated. I shrugged, and went toward the entrance of our room._

" _Come on, let's just talk about this later." I said. I didn't really want to talk about finances and all that right now._

" _We still need money." Annabeth pointed out._

" _You're right." I said. I went to my desk and pulled out two twenties from one of the drawers. "Let's roll." I pointed to the door and headed forward._

" _Let's roll?" Annabeth raised an eyebrow._

" _Yup." I said, opening the door for her. She pecked me on the cheek before passing me._

" _Hazel and Frank are probably waiting for us."_

" _Get going then, Wise Girl." I said, closing the door behind me. She went toward the elevators before I stopped her._

" _Actually, why don't we take the stairs down instead?" I suggested. Annabeth shook her head and reluctantly changed her direction to the staircase. She probably got that I didn't exactly enjoy elevators. "Thanks."_

" _I just want fro yo, and you're not going to stop me from getting it just because you have an irrational fear of elevators." Annabeth said, smirking._

" _Sure, sure." I nodded. Annabeth began to run down the stairs, me chasing after her yet knowing there was no chance in Hades that I was going to catch her._

* * *

 _Percy POV_

I woke up, breathing heavily and smiling. The memory was a fond one, reminding me of the peaceful times immediately after the Giant War. After all the quests, the monsters, and immortals chasing after me, it was nice to have some fun for a time period longer than six months.

Damn. The nostalgia was real.

"Percy, hurry up and change, we gotta go down to breakfast." Harry said, knocking on the dark wood bed frame. I whipped the covers off of my hidden legs and picked up my washed robes.

"Okay, I'll meet you down there in 10." I said. Harry nodded, robes already on, and turned around to go to the Great Hall. I quickly showered and changed, coming back to the main form with all of our beds to see that everyone was gone.

"Ah, shit." I said, going back to my bag and picking up the paper with my schedule. I would need it for probably the next two weeks or so.

As I exited the dorm room and than the common room, more and more noise from my peers filled my ears. Hufflepuffs, Slytherins, and Ravenclaws alike yawned and chatted in the massive maze that was Hogwarts.

The Great Hall was even greater in the morning, if that was even possible. Sun rays lined the walls, shining through the rows of windows. The tables were illuminated by the rays, and instead of meat and desserts, breakfast foods filled the benches.

"Percy, what are you doing?" I spun around to find Hermione passing me, smirking at my seemingly cluelessness.

"Nothing. Just admiring the architecture." I commented, following Hermione to Ron and Harry. I sat down where I had the night before, immediately looking at the food selection. There wasn't much around me, as Ron had already made a dent in what was available, but I managed to pick up the scraps that weren't yet digested.

"Have you guys gotten your schedule yet?" I asked, taking a sip of an unknown type of juice in my goblet.

"Yup. The heads of each house passed them out earlier." Ron said. "Here, Hermione." Ron took a piece of parchment from the seat next to him and handed it to Hermione.

"Thanks, Ron." Hermione said, accepting her schedule and immediately opening it.

"Where's yours, Percy? We looked around the table but couldn't find it." Harry asked.

"I actually got mine last night." I replied. "A house elf named Dobby came and teleported me to Dumbledore's office. He gave me a schedule for private lessons."

"Already? That's not common, is it?" Ron asked.

"Not usually, I don't think." Hermione said. She peered off into space, putting on a mask of contemplation.

"It wasn't that interesting of a conversation. He just gave me my schedule." I said.

"At least you've had a one on one with him." Ron grumbled. I smiled.

"It wasn't really a one on one. Dobby was kind creeping on my side the entire time." I said. Ron smiled weakly.

"When's the last time we've gone down to the kitchens, Harry?" Ron asked.

"Why would you go to the kitchen? Get the food before anyone else can?" I asked.

"Not exactly. That's where the house elves are. We've visited Dobby there once." Harry said. "Though they do give you food even if you don't request it."

"How come Dobby didn't say hi to us?" Ron asked. "He did go into our dormitory, right?"

"Yeah, but I don't think he wanted to wake anybody." I replied.

"Guys, we're getting off topic. Our first class is Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Umbridge." Hermione cut in.

"Not for me, I have private lessons. Nope. I have…" I took out my paper and read the first line, forgetting from last night. "I have Professor Snape for Potions first. Then I have him for Defense Against the Dark Arts right after that?"

"What? Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions? And private lessons? Jeez, I can barely take one class with the bloke." Ron said. "You're done, mate."

"Very encouraging, Ron." Hermione said sarcastically. "I'm sure Dumbledore has a good reason for this. Umbridge probably isn't suitable to have you catch up."

"Hope he doesn't hate me as soon as I walk in." I said.

"There's a good chance he does." Harry said grimly.

"Thanks, Harry. Very reassuring." I said. I sighed, looking around wildly. "When do we leave?"

"Whenever you want. As long as you get to your class in time." Hermione explained.

"Okay, that's… general." I said. "Can we go now than?" I asked. In the span of our conversation, I had finished a short breakfast.

"Sure, as long as Ron isn't still eating." Hermione said. Ron tried to stuff some last minute foods before tripping over he bench.

"Let's go." Ron said with a mouthful of food.

"Why aren't there any clocks?" I asked as I got up to follow Ron.

"There are. You just probably aren't very observant." Hermione stated.

"Pffft. I am actually very observant." I said. I started glancing at the walls of the hallways, seeing clocks on almost every wall. It was a miracle that I hadn't noticed it before.

"Sure. Whatever you say." Hermione replied. I shook my head and smiled at how well we functioned as a group already.

"I'll see you guys later. I'm gonna try and find Professor Snape and not get lost." I said.

'Bye, Percy." Harry said. I waved and took a glance at my paper again before heading off in a random direction.

Eventually, after what seemed like hours of roaming the halls and getting shouted at by random paintings, I found the door to Professor Snape's office. I opened it, finding the door to be old and actually kind of moldy.

"Um… Professor Snape? I'm here for my lesson." I said cautiously. I looked around the room for a bit, not finding a professor. The office was lit green with bottles and vials lined shelves that were equally moldy as the door I went through. A desk sat in the middle of the office, a green rug. Similar to the shade of the lighting.

I sat down in the wooden chair that faced a black armchair I assumed the professor would sit in. I winced as the chair creaked. Behind me, a door slammed open and without turning around, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flare of black robes whip behind a tall figure.

Professor Snape came around me and immediately collapsed into his chair, staring me directly in the eyes. I stared right back.

"Be still and be silent. I am not here for you to waste my time. Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts are what I intend to teach you. If you do not want to learn, than leave." Professor Snape said coldly, which was both intimidating and a little odd, as I was both still and quiet. "These lessons are meant to catch you up to the rest of the fifth-years, so I will not teach you slowly.

"Are we going to do this practically, sir?" I asked, trying to be as respectful as possible. Snape nodded, resting his hands on the desk.

"Indeed. The Headmaster has informed me of the disadvantages you possess. Most of our lessons will be practical rather than us reading and lecturing."

"Thank you." I said.

"Days with alternate from Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts. I will see fit when you are ready to join your peers."

"When do you think that will happen?" I asked curiously. I honestly had no idea how much I had to learn.

"That depends on how willing you are to learn." Snape said calmly. I nodded. "Let's get started, then. Today's lesson will be Defense Against the Dark Arts. The students at your level learned absolutely nothing in their first year, as the professor was a nowhere near qualified. So we will go straight to second year, which I also believe to be useless. The third year, however…" the professor paused, hesitant for his next words.

"Third year was perhaps the most productive for your peers. They learned about dangerous creatures and the ways to exploit their weaknesses. Your first lesson will be a spell to ward off boggarts. A creature that takes the shape of your worst fear."

"Okay." I nodded calmly. In reality, I was actually nervous. I wasn't exactly sure what or who my worst fear was. I had faced a ton of monsters and titans and gods over the years, and if Snape saw any of them, he would probably get a little suspicious.

"I assume you've brought your wand?" Snape asked.

"Yes." I said, pulling out my wand from my robe pocket. I set it on the desk between us.

"Okay. I realize you haven't learned basic wand motions and spells, but I've been informed that Professors Flitwick and Mcgonagall will help you with that." Snape said, picking up my wand and studying it. "The incantation is _Riddikulus_ and with your dominant arm, you will do a slight upward flick with your wand. You must have intent behind the words, the incantation cannot be blank in expression. You must think of something silly, as the boggart's weakness is laughter, and imagine the boggart becoming what you think of."

"Yes, sir." Snape handed me my wand.

"Practice the motion, and once you are ready, I will release the boggart that rests to my left." Snape said. I looked to my right and saw a chest lying against the wall, multiple locks keeping it shut.

"An upward flick?" I asked.

"Correct." Snape said. I took my wand and flicked it upward, a motion not too different from disarming someone's sword.

"Good. Except your flick should use less arm and more wrist." Snape corrected. I nodded and flicked my wand again, this time attempting to follow the professor's instruction. "Better. Keep practicing. I will set up the boggart."

"Yes sir." I said, repeating the wand motion. I did this for a minute before Snape cleared his throat and I turned to my right. Snape was crouching next to the chest, his wand out over the locks.

"Stand in front of the chest, 10 feet away from it. Once I open it, you will have to perform the spell, forcing the boggart to become what you imagine."

"Okay." I said, standing up and moving to about 10 feet from the chest.

"Do not be phased. Although it is your worst fear, it's only a boggart." Snape reassured.

"Got it. Only a boggart." I repeated, taking a deep breath and shaking my arm.

"Alright. One… two… three." Snape said calmly. He flourished his wand over the locks and after several clicks, the lid raised open.

A figure crawled out, knuckles bloody and cloudy blue eyes. It was Luke Castellan, in his mortal form without Kronos inhabiting his body. He smirked at me, advancing until his face was inches from mine. I stood, wand at my side, frozen.

"Pathetic." he growled, punching me in the gut. I doubled over, not expecting the strike. I kneeled before looking up, seeing that Luke had disappeared. In his place was a translucent from of Annabeth.

"Annabeth." I groaned. Silently, she turned and walked away. I got up, panting still from Luke's punch. "Annabeth." I repeated. I blinked and Annabeth was replaced with Ethan Nakamura, son of Nemesis.

"Percy, you failed me. You didn't go through with your promise." he said sadly.

"Percy! It's just a boggart! It's not real!" Shape hissed warily. I still stood frozen staring at the boggart. It changed from Ethan to Calypso. From Calypso to Bianca. From Bianca to Jason. "Percy! Come on Percy!" Shape was now yelling at me.

I snapped out of my paralytic trance and raised my wand hand. I took a deep breath.

" _Riddikulus_!" I yelled, flicking my wand at Jason. The signature purple shirt he was wearing turned into slime of the same color, oozing in a mountain until only his head could be seen.

"Good, but it could be much better. Don't take so much time. You must remember that it is not what you think it is." Snape reassured. Thank the gods that he wasn't focusing on what the boggart became.

"Yeah, sorry." I said. All those people; Ethan, Calypso, Luke, Annabeth, Bianca, and Jason. All of them had something in common. All of them were connected somehow.

I had failed all of them. It was as simple as that. I hadn't been good enough and I failed each and every one of them.

"Are you okay to do one more?" what Snape said wasn't a question, and it wasn't an order.

"Yeah, yeah let's go. " Snape nodded and the Jason stuck in solidified purple slime was sucked back into the chest.

"Don't freeze. Stay calm and focus on what you want the boggart to transform into." Snape said. I nodded. His teaching was actually not bad. After what I heard from Harry, Ron, and Hermione, I had low expectations. But he was actually pretty good at teaching me.

"Okay, okay. You can do this Percy. First spell you're learning is one to get rid of your worst fears. How kind. I thought we would start out simple, like maybe making feathers float or something, but oh well." I muttered under my breath, Professor Snape not being able to hear me.

"Prepare yourself." Snape said, waving his wand over the locks once again, and the lid of the chest opening.

Once again, Luke crawled out of the chest. This time, I wasn't frozen in shock or fear. I quickly raised my arm and flicked my wand.

" _Riddikulus_!" I yelled. Luke's clothes disappeared and what was left were white boxers and a bright yellow toga. I never really understood togas. They were just so odd.

"Very good. Very good. That will be all for today. Tomorrow we will start potions. I want you to save your energy for the rest of your classes today."

"Thanks." I said. Snape nodded, going back to his chair after sucking the boggart back into the chest and locking it in.

"Go. Your next class I believe is with Professor Mcgonagall." Snape said, waving me away. I thanked him once again and left, knowing that I had learnt a spell that I probably would never use. Yet it helped me realize that failure was my biggest fear. That counted for something useful.

And I learned that Snape wasn't everything that I had heard. He would probably be a pretty good teacher in the end.

* * *

 _Harry POV_

"So you actually like him as a teacher?" I asked incredulously. Percy nodded and grinned. The firelight of the Gryffindor common room made his smile look all the more sinister.

"He isn't as bad as you guys made him out to be." Percy said. He said, resting his arm on the back of the blood red couch that he, Hermione, Ron and I were all sitting on.

"Really? Who else did you have today?" Ron asked.

"Flitwick, Mcgonagall, Binns, and more people that I can't care to remember. I only remembered the professors who are teaching subjects that I'm at least somewhat interested in." Percy answered.

"You think History of Magic is interesting?" Ron asked.

"Well, history is special. It makes us what we are today. If we didn't know history, how would we be grateful for society not being a complete shithole?" Percy asked rhetorically. Ron shrugged.

"Still don't think it's interesting." Ron grumbled.

"It's more interesting than Divination. Did you have Trelawney?" Hermione asked. Percy nodded in displeasure.

"She's a creep. No offense to her, or anything, but Divination would be good if I had a teacher to teach me how to decipher prophecies and such." Percy said. Hermione cocked her head, waiting for an explanation. Percy just waved it off. "So how were your guys's classes?"

"Not too bad. But Harry's already got a detention." Ron said. "And Snape's as grumpy as ever. At least for us."

"Who's your detention from?" Percy asked. "I can't judge you. All the schools I've been to in the past I've caused trouble within the first week."

"Umbridge, the new DADA teacher." I answered. "She's denying that Voldemort isn't back." Ron and Hermione flinched, yet Percy stayed without fear or shock.

"Voldemort?" Percy asked, confusion written all over his face. "Who's Voldemort?"

"Really mate? I know you're from America and all, but you don't even know who Voldemort is?" Ron asked.

"I guess not?" Percy almost shrunk.

"Voldemort was a very Dark wizard who killed Harry's parents and a lot of other people. He was gone for awhile but now he's back." Hermione explained, not all that surprised about Percy's lack in knowledge.

"He murdered your parents?" Percy asked, "Gods, and I thought I had it bad."

"Nope. The problem is that he's back now, and even though we need to learn self-defense now more than ever, Umbridge isn't actually teaching us any magic." I said bitterly. She really wasn't expecting us to learn anything at all, largely because she wasn't actually trying to teach us anything.

"Shit." Percy said. "Well, what are you gonna do about it?" I shrugged.

"We don't know yet. We have to do something if Umbridge isn't going to teach us anything useful." I replied.

"Um, Harry. I forgot to mention that I think I have an idea to learn self defense." Hermione brought up.

"What?" I asked. "What do you have in mind?"

"You help teach us. At least, all the ones we can find who want to learn." Hermione said.

"Hermione, I think you're forgetting the fact that Harry's fifteen. I don't think he's qualified to teach anyone." Percy said warily.

"I didn't forget about that, actually. Harry's appearance is deceiving. He's done a ton of stuff that you probably haven't done." Hermione explained.

"Yeah. I don't think anyone here is more qualified to teach us besides Dumbledore and maybe Mcgonagall." Ron said. I blushed in embarrassment.

"Now it just seems like you're gassing him up." Percy said, smiling. He was mirroring my thoughts. The praise I was receiving wasn't deserved.

"Not really. He's probably the best in our year at Defense Against the Dark Arts." Ron said. "No offense, Hermione."

"None taken." Hermione replied.

"Guys, that still doesn't mean I'm going to teach anyone to defend themselves. Everyone hates me, anyways! There's no way you could get enough people for me to teach." I yelled.

"Harry. Harry." Percy put a hand on my shoulder. "In my experience, there's always people who are willing to be taught."

"You obviously don't know these people. I'm already under scrutiny with everyone being influenced by the Ministry. Nobody believes me…"

"You'd be surprised. I'm sure you'll have some people willing to be taught by you. Heck, I'll do it! I don't really have anything else to do. The professors aren't giving me any homework." Percy said cheerfully.

'What? Why not?" Ron asked, finding his lack of a workload rather profound.

"I have ADHD and dyslexia, so I can't really do anything when it comes to reading or writing papers." Percy replied. He didn't seem sad or angry about it. He had lived through dealing with it, and now he was just accepting it.

"Jeez. How do you live with that?" Ron asked. Percy shrugged.

"I don't really think about it. I've had it since I was born. You learn to live with it." Percy said. "It's a good excuse sometimes so I don't have to do homework. All the work I have is to practice all the stuff I'm learning. And, I'll improve more if Harry here lives up to what I've been hearing. There's no way I can get worse."

"True. Very true." Hermione said. "Come on, Harry. You're the one talking about having to defend ourselves out into the real world. How about I ask some people, and if we get enough, you'll do it."

"Fine, but there's no way you're going to get enough people." I said. There was absolutely no way that I was going to be teaching people how to defend themselves. What if someone got hurt or died because I taught them badly?

"That's a compromise." Percy said. "So we just ask around and see if anyone wants to not get killed? It's my first week here and we're already getting into some shady stuff."

"Yeah. Sorry 'bout that." Ron said.

"It's fine. Trouble follows me wherever I go. I'm used to it." Percy said nonchalantly.

"We should go to sleep now. It's almost midnight." Hermione pointed out. Nobody else was now in the common room.

"Yeah. See you in the morning, Hermione." Percy said.

"Bye." Hermione said, smiling before turning to go toward the girls' dormitory.

"What?" Percy asked, noticing Ron's odd look.

"Nothing. Nothing at all." Ron replied. "Come on. Let's go." we followed Ron to our dorm. Making sure to enter somewhat quietly in case anybody was sleeping.

"Goodnight, you guys. I'll help with getting people tomorrow after all my classes." Percy said, burrowing into his bed.

"Okay, see you in the morning." I replied. I crawled into my bed before pulling the covers over my legs, falling asleep instantly. The only thing plaguing my sleep was idea of attempting to teach young kids how to defend themselves. I wasn't ready to do that. I didn't want to do that. But if it came to it, I would at least try my best to not get anybody killed.

* * *

 **Didn't want to drag on the bit about Percy learning all the basics on day one, so I skipped some of the classes. Other than that, I just wanted to address that chapters won't be as quickly released since they won't be as short. Not to mention homework and school sometimes being stressful and time consuming. But I'll try to pump out the chapters as fast I can, making sure they don't suck, off course.**

 **See you next time.**


	6. I Don't Have Any Names For This Chapter

**I'm back!**

 **Sorry for the very very long wait, and this might not even satisfy your wants or needs. I know I took a very long hiatus after a very short time on this story, but I'm back, and hopefully I don't leave for a very long time soon. Maybe you didn't even want this chapter, or maybe you forgot about this little story a long time ago. Nevertheless, here's chapter 6.**

 **It's a little short but whatever. Hopefully I'll get back into the groove once I start doing this more again.**

 **Also, little AN, I don't think pairings will be the main focus of this story anymore. The reason I stopped doing this in the first place is because I started to question the Hermione - Percy pairing, which is the basis of this story, but now I realise that I want to just focus on the plot that I already have written out, with pairings and such maybe on the side. Percy/Hermione is still a possibility, but if that's what you're looking for, maybe there's a better fanfic out there that better suits your search.**

* * *

 **Chapter 6 | There's no title possible for this that isn't stupid**

 _Percy POV_

"Although we have covered many subjects, there are still months to accomplish." Snape said emotionlessly as he put a small tank containing a Grindylow on the ground behind his desk.

"Thanks, I guess. I don't know about the other subjects, but I feel comfortable in Defense Against the Dark Arts. And Potions. Divination and Charms I feel okay in as well." I replied. I had gotten used to Snape's odd attitude and strange forms of compliments.

"Yes. The other professors have repeated this information to me. At this rate, you should be caught up with the fifth years within three months or less. You could probably catch up to the seventh years by the end of the year if Dumbledore allowed it." Snape said.

"Thank you." I repeated. "What's our next lesson?"

"We've covered Grindylows, and we're mostly part of the third year, so I believe that we can move on to werewolves." Snape said.

"Werewolves? I really shouldn't be surprised, should I?" I asked, relieved that I was learning about an animal that I recognized at least slightly. Grindylows and Boggarts and Red Caps weren't exactly my forte.

"No, at this point I think you shouldn't be surprised at anything." Snape confirmed, unaware of my past yet still agreeing with me.

"Okay, so what about Werewolves are so special? Other than their sharp teeth and terrifying fangs?" I asked.

"Although from mythology, those are correct. This will be a dual lesson, having to do with both Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts." Snape said.

"Really? What's the potions part?" I asked curiously. We hadn't had a dual lesson before. Even though I had come to actually like Snape's lessons, I wasn't sure I was ready for two lessons in one go.

"One thing that you should know about werewolves is that they have no control over their actions. They become instinctive and primal, only slivers of their personality remaining after they transform, which is every full moon." Snape explained. "Werewolves also exert symptoms close to their transformation, such as tiredness and sickness."

"Okay, so you want me to be able to spot a werewolf. I think I can do that. I'm pretty sure that I'm observant." I replied, rubbing my hands together.

"Werewolves are burdened heavily every time it nears the full moon. A potion can be brewed to stall this burden and suppress the symptoms of the full moon." Snape said.

"So you also want me to help werewolves? Are they good or bad creatures?" I asked.

"Depends. They're most lethal at the full moon, but they can still be dangerous any time of the month. Friend or foe, they can be dangerous." Snape said.

"So try to be nice to them?" I asked.

"Do whatever you want. But be wary and cautious." Snape said. I nodded. "Now, let's attempt to make that Wolfsbane Potion."

"Okay. What's the ingredients?" I asked.

"Wolfsbane." Snape said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"That's it?" Wolfsbane?" I asked.

"Well, that and a few other simple ingredients and instructions. The problem with the potion is that wolfsbane is hard to find around here. Scotland is it's main inhabitant, and wizards generally don't go near there." Snape explained.

"Okay. And you're going to use some for this lesson?" I asked. Snape nodded in confirmation.

"Correct. And you'll only get one attempt. I only have a limited supply on hand." Snape said strictly.

"Okay." I said. Snape opened his drawer and pulled out multiple ingredients for the Wolfsbane Potion including Powdered moonstone, Valerian roots, and Dittany.

"Simple ingredients?" I asked. These ingredients were far from simple. I hadn't worked with them yet, Snape only showing me the ingredients only once before, and only briefly.

"Fairly simple to work with, yet the potion had mostly been in secret, as the creator didn't want this to be a common brew. These ingredients are not common, just a little hard to come by." Snape said.

"Okay, but we still haven't worked with them much." I said.

"That's fine. They're not the worst ingredients to work with. And the potion isn't the most difficult to brew." Snape said.

"Okay. Can you show me, then? Just tell me while I go along, like we always do." I asked. Snape nodded.

"I'm sure that you won't mess up. Just do exactly as I say. Everything exact and everything in order." Snape said.

"Got it." I said, standing up to transfer a cauldron behind me to beside the desk.

The fire behind Snape flickered green, sparks coming off of it as the burning smell increased.

"I guess, maybe next time?" I asked sheepishly. The sudden green fire was Hogwarts' "lunch bell".

"Fine. We will finish this lesson tomorrow before moving on to your Defense lesson, which will be on the spells and other ways to defend yourself against the creatures I have been teaching you.

"Okay. Thank you." I said, turning around to exit his office, looking back as I opened the door and waving goodbye to the professor.

Walking along the halls of Hogwarts were never boring, with paintings making interesting comments and gestures making the hallways more colorful, per se, and eavesdropping on random conversations between students helped entertain me. Tones and pitches in the students' voices helped me ground myself back to the reality of school, with so many people either entering puberty, escaping puberty, or not even close to it.

Ah, how I remembered those days. Fighting monsters, running for my life, and having voice cracks on the regular. Those were the days.

"Percy! Percy, can I ask you for a favor?" Hermione asked from behind me as I neared the entrance to the Great Hall, which was already packed with students carrying varying school supplies.

"Sure, what is it?" I spotted Harry and Ron, sitting across from Dean Thomas and Neville Longbottom, who were also in the fifth year and in Gryffindor.

"After lunch, we have about half an hour before our next classes, and I was wondering if you could help me find people who wouldn't mind being taught by Harry to defend themselves." Hermione offered.

"Shouldn't we ask people who you know and are absolutely sure that they'll accept. It would be a little redundant to have a secret training group that everyone knows about. Higher possibility of leaks." I said.

"That's a good idea. Let's just ask those who I'm certain will at least consider it." Hermione agreed.

"Fine, but why do I have to come? You can do it by yourself, can't you?" I asked.

"Think of it this way. If you come with me, you'll meet new people and possibly make new friends. Also, I'll be able to tell you about SPEW." Hermione said excitedly.

"What?! SPEW?" I asked. What in the name of Poseidon's Hawaiian beach shorts was SPEW?

"I'll tell you about it later, when you're helping me with the new defense academy." Hermione said.

"That's what we're calling it? A defense academy?" I asked as we sat down next to Harry and Ron.

"For now. We can think of a better name later." Hermione said, picking an apple up from the table and taking a small bite out of it. She set her bag on the ground below her, pulling out a sheet of paper and setting it on the table in front of her.

"Better name for what?" Ron asked.

"For the group of people that Harry's going to teach." Hermione said.

"Tell me you're not still on that. Please, just drop it. I'm not going to teach any students, even if they do want to. I'm a student myself! Why should I teach them? You have to drop it!" Harry ordered.

"Well, too bad. We're not dropping it. In fact, Percy's going to help me convince people of our idea. Or, my idea." Hermione said.

Harry made a strange noise of frustration, cocking his head back and forth in a frustrating manner. He took a sip from his goblet shut his eyes for a moment.

"I don't think it's a bad idea either, Harry." Rob added. "What is there to lose, really?" Harry looked at him in disbelief before rubbing his eyes and shaking his head.

"Great, just great. Fine, do whatever you want, just be smart about who you ask. And I don't want any Slytherins in this little thing your creating." Harry said strictly.

"Alright, I'm okay with that." Hermione said. I picked up an assortment of food from the table and started chowing down without a worry in the world, not having to study for anything or catch up on any homework because I didn't actually have any of that.

"Why not? Not all Slytherins can be bad. That just seems you really think all the evil kids are just funneled into one house?" I asked through a mouthful of mashed potato.

"Pretty much, yeah." Ron nodded.

"I know I've only been here for about 10 seconds, but I feel like that's just plain discrimination. I think we should diversify what we're making, be more accepting than how you guys have been so far." I offered, seriously confused on how a whole fourth of a school could be evil.

"What? No, no way! That's not happening." Harry said furiously.

"I agree with Harry, and I'm not even fully sure what you guys are talking about." Dean said. "Slytherins are just bullies, why should we help them?"

"I think Percy actually has a point. I'm not sure about letting the Slytherins into the group, but at the Sorting Feast, Umbridge's speech wasn't just a load of rubbish. She was saying that the Ministry is attempting to interfere here, and the Sorting Hat said that in order to withstand these dangerous times, we have to stand together.

"I think we should invite Draco Malfoy." I suggested. Everyone looked at me in surprise and disgust.

"What? That git is the last Slytherin who should know about this." Harry shouted.

"Think about it," I whispered. "Draco has a bunch of people in Slytherin who practically worship him. If we get him to accept and go against the Ministry, he'll be able to influence everyone else, especially because you've told me that his dad works as the Ministry." I explained.

"But he hates all of us!" Ron said furiously. "Why would you even think that he would accept?! Let alone that we would?"

"He barely knows me. I'll try and convince him!" I argued.

"Percy, I know you mean well, but you don't know him. Malfoy would never accept, even if we begged him." Hermione said. "I say we look for the nicest Slytherin we can find, and then we ask them." I grit my teeth, holding back a venomous response. Nobody should be ruled out or discriminated. We should be looking for anyone who wants to learn how to defend themselves.

"Fine, it's your guys' idea. Do whatever the hell you want." I said, going back to my meal. I saw Hermione bite her lip out of the corner of my eye, but ignored it. I had my right to say what I thought.

"I say we wait until we get enough people to invite a Slytherin." Harry said, attempting to compromise.

"Well, whatever it is, I think we can agree that we're in." Neville said. "What is it, anyway?"

"We're organizing a secret group to learn defense. Something that Umbridge clearly has no intention of teaching." Hermione explained.

"Cool! I'm with Neville!" Dean said. Hermione smiled.

"Great! We'll meet you this weekend at Hogsmeade in the Hog's Head with everyone else." Hermione said.

"What's Hogsmeade? And what's the Hog's Head?" I asked.

"Oh, right. Hogsmeade is a place we go some weekends where there are shops, bars, and all other sorts of nice places to visit. The Hog's Head is a musty old bar on the edge of it. Nobody goes there, at least none of the students, so I don't think any students should overhear us."

"What about the Three Broomsticks?" Harry asked.

"I don't think we should meet there. It's always so crowded and loud in there." Hermione said.

"So then isn't it better if we meet there?" I asked. "Less of a chance of being overheard by anyone, even if practically nobody goes to the Hog's Head."

Hermione pursed her lips in thought.

"No, I still think we should meet in the Hog's Head." Hermione said plainly, no explanation given.

"Fine, whatever. Again, it's your guys' idea." I said, just about furious with everyone's stubbornness.

"Okay, will you still help me find people to come to the meeting?" Hermione asked. I was willing to slam the table in frustration. She had just knocked off two of my ideas - which I thought were very reasonable in every way - and now she asks me to help her.

Nevertheless, I accepted, very reluctantly, and stood up.

"Okay, when do we start?" I asked. Hermione nearly jumped up in excitement.

"Right now." Hermione said. I sighed, already a little tired of the day. I forced myself to trudge behind a practically skipping Hermione, attempting to gather myself and not look so depressed.

"So, can I tell you about SPEW now?" Hermione asked. I sighed once more.

"Why not?" I shrugged as we went down the table, heading toward a group of older Gryffindors. "Maybe it'll take my mind off of things. So what is this incredible acronym?"

"What makes you think it's an acronym?" Hermione asked, turning back to me with her eyebrows raised. I raised my eyebrows as well. "Fine. Yes, it's an acronym. It stands for the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare."

"What in the what?" I asked. "That's just a bunch of random words strung together so that the acronym sounds intelligible.

"No it isn't. I actually put a lot of thought into the acronym!" Hermione argued as she stopped in front of the group of chatting Gryffindors.

"Um, hello?" I asked nervously, raising my hand before realizing that it wasn't doing anything, and then lowering it again. The group turned, a mix of both boys and girls.

"Hi, you're the new kid, right? The American?" one asked. She had short brown hair and lightly tanned skin, and seemed much shorter than the others in the group.

"Um, yeah." I said. I internally smacked myself. "What year are you in?"

"Sixth year. Name's Katie Bell. It's nice to meet you." she said, smiling and extending her hand. I took hers and shook it firmly.

"Anyways, Katie, we're here to offer you guys with a proposal." Hermione said. "Percy, this is Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet. You already met Fred and George."

I just noticed the two red-headed twins with giant smiles. I waved and they waved back, their smiles unwavering.

"Hey." I said, refocusing my attention on everyone else. They greeted me back, and Hermione continued in what we had come there to do.

"I propose that since Professor Umbridge doesn't even deserve the title of Professor, we have Harry teach us instead. We're forming a group of hopefully anyone who'll want to join." Hermione explained.

"What? Do we have to remind you that Harry's barely a fifth year?" Angelina asked, completely dumbfounded.

"I know that, but just hear us out. We're having a meeting in the Hog's Head this Hogsmeade weekend. Just come and hear us out." Hermione asked.

"Fine, we'll come. Umbridge is a complete ass, anyways. We're not going to learn anything." Angelina said. Hermione nodded in agreement.

"Spread the word to anyone you think will be willing to join." Hermione said before waving and turning around to leave. Katie waved at me and I grinned, turning around to follow Hermione.

"That went well." I said.

"Yes, I wasn't expecting anything negative." Hermione said. "Where were we?"

"Uh, the acronym? SPEW?" I asked, wondering why I was still talking about the rights of elves.

"Oh, right. SPEW is an organization I recently formed that does what the name says. We promote the freedom of elves, because they currently don't have any real rights, and I believe that they should.

"Cool, I guess. Who's in it?" I asked curiously.

"Just me, Ron, and Harry. But I was hoping that you could help me. I'm weaving clothes for the elves to pick up in our common room, and I think you could help me make some pieces because Ron and Harry don't seem to want to help." Hermione said, the last part a little disappointingly.

"Ah." I smacked my lips. "I don't know, Hermione. Weaving isn't really something I do."

"Come on, it'll be fun! I'll help you with the wand movements." Hermione said.

"Hold on, we aren't doing it by hand? I mean, I wouldn't be doing it by hand if I accepted?" I asked.

"Why would we do that? I'll teach you to bewitch the needles and material, so you can work on something else while that's happening." Hermione explained. I sighed. I had been sighing a lot recently, and giving in to whatever anyone asked too.

"Fine." I grumbled. "Where to next?"

"I don't see anyone in the Great Hall that I want to ask, so we'll go into the courtyard." Hermione said.

"Okay. Why are we making clothing for elves?" I asked.

"When a house elf is given an article of clothing, they are freed from their master." Hermione said simply.

'How exactly does that work?" I asked. "A creature finds a sock or a scarf or anything else and their just free? That doesn't make any sense."

"I don't get it either, but they shouldn't be enslaved in the first place." Hermione said. "That's just how magic works."

"Cool. What type of clothing are we weaving?" I asked.

"Anything really. Probably hats and scarves and simple things." Hermione said. "I'm not the best at it."

"It's fine if you aren't the best. I think it's good you're trying to help free a species. I'll help, or at least try." I said, realizing that no matter if I was amazing at weaving or couldn't at all, I would have to be at least a little helpful.

"Thanks! Now, our next candidates are from Ravenclaw." Hermione said excitedly, pointing at a group of huddled Ravenclaws Ravenclaw girls, clearly older than my fellow fifth years.

"Uh, hi?" Hermione asked as soon as we got close to the group. A red-headed turned to Hermione, her arms crossed.

"Hi, what do you want?" The girl asked rudely. I resisted the urge to curl my fists, and settled for just staring into her soul.

"Um, I was wondering if I could talk to Cho." Hermione stuttered a bit, surprised at the girl's rudeness.

"It's fine, Kelly." A girl said from the back. She squeezed her way to Hermione and smiled. She was Asian, one of the few I had seen at school, and she seemed nice enough.

"Thank you, Cho." Hermione sighed. Cho nodded and glanced at me before looking away.

"So, what do you guys want?" Cho asked as soon as we were out of hearing distance from her friends and anyone else.

"I was wondering if you wanted a join a group that we're creating. It's about self defense." Hermione offered.

"Okay…" Cho said. Apparently, she didn't like the new professor either.

"Harry's gonna teach it…" Hermione said, Cho's eyes temporarily lit up at that. "Since he has the most experience, we thought that he should teach anyone who wanted to receive a proper education in defense."

"Sure!" Cho exclaimed. "When's the first meeting?"

"We'll figure that out this weekend. Hog's Head first thing at Hogsmeade. We're gonna have a meeting there." Hermione said. "And ask anyone who you think will have any remote interest in it, if you could."

"Okay. I guess I'll see you there." Cho said. She walked away back to her group without a word. She seemed like a short-and-sweet person, not very outspoken.

"Great! One more, and hopefully she'll spread the word." Hermione squealed. "Let's go. That's it for now. I'll get some more after classes end. You should get to your class. Thanks for helping me."

"I didn't really help. Didn't even really talk to anyone. But I enjoyed whatever it is that we just did. We should do it again or just anything really." I said, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Sure. I guess we can do something." Hermione said nonchalantly. I smiled and said goodbye, nearly tripping over myself while heading to Transfiguration with Professor Mcgonagall.

* * *

 _Harry POV_

My head nearly slammed on the table as it slipped from the cradle that was my hand. Umbridge's class was so boring that I almost always drifted off. If there was one thing more boring than Professor Binns' long lectures, it was the constant reading in Defense Against the Dark Arts.

The only sound in the room was the flipping of pages and the occasional cheerful humming of Professor Umbridge. I groaned, as I flipped a page of my book without even reading it. After a few seconds of staring blankly at a stain on the page, I closed the book, resting my head on the cold cover.

"Hem hem." Umbridge coughed. I looked up, my eyes half-closed and my glasses crooked on my nose. She stared at me, seeming to pierce my soul with her fake smile and blinding, fluffy pink jacket.

I looked back down and put my head in my hands, knowing that she would do the same stupid cough.

"Hem hem." Umbridge coughed, as I had predicted. She stared straight at me once more, unwaveringly.

"Yes?" I asked weakly, not looking forward to what was about to come. I rubbed my right hand, feeling the half-healed engraving in my hand with my fingers.

"Have you finished reading?" Umbridge asked, probably knowing the answer. I felt the engraving on my hand lightly tingle. I knew that if I lied, it would just hurt more.

"No." Umbridge raised her eyebrows, "No, Professor" She gave her toad-like smile "I'll get back to it right now." Umbridge nodded acceptingly and went back to surveying the entire class.

Umbridge was a pain in the ass, and the reading really didn't teach us anything. There was nothing that was practical in the given textbook, something that we could use in real life. I tapped my foot, blankly staring at the pages in front of me. I was bored out of my mind, and I wasn't even doing anything useful. Usually I wouldn't complain about not learning anything, but DADA was different.

Now that Voldemort was back, the importance of defending oneself was greatly magnified. I sighed, and internally facepalmed myself. Was I actually going to give in to Hermione's proposition?

The bell rang and students started to collect their things and head out of the room. I sighed, preparing myself for what I was about to do. I was about to do maybe the craziest thing I've ever done in my life, which was saying something.

I was going to teach a handful of students how to defend themselves, and hopefully not kill them in the process.

* * *

 **Gonna try to resume answering questions that are typed in the reviews.**

 **Guest: I haven't thought about pairing Percy and Harry, but I'm sure there are plenty of great authors and stories that do include that pairing. I don't even know if romance is my main focus anymore. We'll see.**


	7. Unbreakable Bonds

**New chapter. It's a only bit longer than the last one, but I like it much more.**

* * *

 **Chapter 7 | Unbreakable Bonds**

 _Percy Pov_

" _You know, in hindsight, I have no idea why I was so scared in the first place." Percy said. Annabeth smiled, shaking her head._

" _I don't either. Midterms were basically the hardest part of the entire year. The finals were much easier in my opinion." Annabeth stated._

" _Much easier. And I think this year will be about the same, or at least that's what I heard." Percy said._

" _From who?" Annabeth asked._

" _I have my sources." Percy said, shrugging. Annabeth again shook her head. "Also, even though we've only had less than a week of our new classes, I think the most harm they can do to our college experience is give us boring lectures."_

" _Whatever. This year will be more stressful, I think."_

" _Why?" Percy asked._

" _Um, hello?" a voice asked from in front of both Percy and Annabeth. The pair turned toward the voice. A slim man with pink-tipped wavy hair, a polo and jeans, as well as an earring in one ear raised his eyebrows and smirked._

" _Yeah, sorry. What would you like today, Jordan?" Annabeth asked. Jordan looked up and behind Annabeth and Percy, both following his gaze and finding the all familiar menu of assorted flavors of frozen yogurt, gelato, and ice cream. The same frozen yogurt menu that the pair plus Frank and Hazel had gone to after midterms in their freshman year._

" _Just the usual." Jordan answered, handing Percy a ten dollar bill and Percy giving him back two dimes, and three pennies. Annabeth got a cup and filled it with a scoop of peanut butter and another of raspberry. An odd choice for a usual order, but Jordan seemed to love it._

" _Thanks. See you guys on campus." Jordan waved goodbye. Both waved back and went back to the job that they had kept for a couple of months now._

" _This is why our year will be more stressful," Annabeth said. "We really haven't had a challenge of juggling multiple responsibilities before. We've either had school, Camp Half-Blood, neither, or a quest. This is something that we've never done before."_

" _That's ironic. The one thing you see as a challenge, even though we've been on maybe a dozen quests, is having multiple things to do." Percy said._

" _Yeah, it is, isn't it." Annabeth answered. "Come one, let's get back to the dorm. It's past our shift anyways."_

 _Percy and Annabeth took off their aprons and flung it onto a table in the back of the place, replacing them with their respective backpacks and walking out into the 12 o'clock sun._

 _Kids, teens, and adults all looked at Percy and Annabeth, either enthusiastically waving or staring oddly for a long time._

" _You know, I don't think I'm ever going to get used to the fact that every descendant of the gods knows who we are." Percy said._

" _Me neither."_

 _They walked, chatting about school, camp, and a variety of other things. The walk to the campus was short, about 10 minutes._

" _Do you ever want kids?" Annabeth asked from out of nowhere._

" _A little early for that, don't you think?" Percy chuckled. They arrived at a crosswalk of a busy intersection, pressed the button on the pole beside them, and Percy spotted the reason for Annabeth's sudden question._

 _A small girl, maybe three or four years old, was holding her mother's hand who was chatting with her husband._

" _Ahh." Percy said, smiling at the little girl who was bouncing up and down with joy and excitement. "I don't know, probably." Annabeth gave him the stink eye and Percy's eyes widened._

" _I mean, of course, of course! They're a little hard to deal with I think but I'd love to have a kid. Boy or girl. Actually, preferably a girl. I'd hate for my kid to turn out like me." Percy joked. The crosswalk light turned green and the little girl's hand slipped out of her mother's._

 _The toddler skipped across the sidewalk, and as if in slow motion, Percy witnessed the mother reach out for the toddler, but miss by inches._

 _A semi-truck swerved around a corner and started speeding down the road, heading for the crosswalk that Percy and Annabeth were about to cross. Apparently Annabeth had better reflexes than her boyfriend, throwing her backpack to the sidewalk behind her and sprinting toward the girl._

" _Annabeth!" Percy yelled, the guttural scream coming from the deepest part of his soul. He hesitated a split second before imitating Annabeth and throwing his backpack to the side. In his head, he knew he would be too late, yet he did it anyways._

 _Annabeth reached the girl in time, picking the girl up as if she was the lightest thing in the world and rolling out of the way. The semi truck stopped suddenly, it's front just clipping Annabeth's back foot. She tumbled, holding onto the girl and covering her like she was the most precious thing in the world._

" _Fuck. Fuck." Percy repeated, running over to Annabeth just before the parents of the little girl could. "Are you okay, Annabeth?" Percy asked, his voice literally shaking. She was kneeling on the ground, her back heaving up and down. Up and down._

" _Yeah, yeah I'm okay." Annabeth said. She sat up and saw the parents next to Percy, the woman in tears and the man's lip quivering, eyes glossy, forehead sweaty, and pretty much every single thing you could possibly think of._

 _A cry came from Annabeth, and the toddler was revealed in her arms, tears streaming down her cheeks and hiccuping from sobbing so much._

" _Jesus, honey. I am so, so sorry for letting you go." the mom said softly, her voice trembling. "Come here honey, come here."_

 _Annabeth opened her arms hesitantly and allowed the mother to have her daughter. The man knelt down next to the mother and cried with them, hugging and savoring the fact that nobody was seriously injured._

" _You okay, Annabeth?" I repeated. Annabeth nodded, checking her arms and legs. Her elbows were bloody and bruised as well as some blood running down her left leg. Other than that, she didn't seem to be majorly injured._

" _You know, for a daughter of Athena, I'm pretty sure that wasn't the most logical or thought through thing you've ever done." Percy said, weakly smiling. Annabeth forced a small chuckle._

" _I don't know, I just felt like I had to do something. There wasn't really any time to react or think."_

" _Yeah. Well that's how I think all the time." Percy said, his smile getting brighter and his adrenaline and worry lowering. "And some ambrosia and nectar should heal those wounds pretty easily. Looks like it's just a scratch."_

" _Just a scratch." she said. She smiled, her eyes welling with tears. She wiped them away and Percy hugged her tighter than he had ever hugged anyone ever before. "Just a scratch."_

* * *

Percy woke up, holding onto his sheets for dear life, the sun highlighting the sides of his bed. The actual mattress was shadowed and dark.

"Alright there, Percy? You were mumbling in your sleep." Ron asked, already dressed in his robes.

"Yeah, yeah." Percy nodded vigorously.

"Harry's in the common room with Hermione and Ginny. " Ron said.

"Who?" Percy asked.

"Oh right, you haven't met her yet. Ginny's my sister, a year younger." Ron explained. Percy nodded once again. "Get ready for breakfast. Today's another Hogsmeade trip."

"Coming, coming." Percy said, throwing the sheets to the side and practically bounced off his bed, quickly changing into his robes and stuffing his wand into his pocket.

He didn't have time for the usual morning routine today. Right after breakfast was a Hogsmeade visit, and Percy hadn't been able to even attempt to go yet. He had heard great things and couldn't put into words how excited he was to be able to go.

"Nice of you to join us." Hermione commented as soon as Percy was visible to her.

"Thanks." Percy answered. "Let's go."

"Right." the group went off, the last ones out of the common room. Percy looked down at his clothes and tried to smoothen the wrinkles of his robes. They really weren't the most fashionable, but then again, when had he ever cared about what his clothes looked like? Comfort was the only thing he really cared about, because everyone knows that wearing comfortable and flexible clothes can tip the scales in a battle with any monster from Titan to hellhound.

They found an empty space at the Gryffindor table big enough for all five people and got right to eating, both Ron and Percy wasting no time at all in emptying the serving plates around them.

"Er, Percy?" the redhead next to Ron asked. Percy's head perked up and he spotted what appeared to be the sister of Ron.

"Oh, Ginny, right?! Sorry that I didn't acknowledge you earlier, I'm just a little tired." he said. Ginny smiled.

"It's okay. I get it." Ginny replied.

"Are you joining the thing?" Percy asked, raising his eyebrows and quickly glancing at his friends. Harry shrugged, Ron kept eating, and Hermione nodded her head.

"Yeah, the meeting's today, right?" she asked. "Hog's head?"

"Um, I guess?" Percy asked, shrugging his shoulders. Again, Hermione nodded, the only one with any information whatsoever.

"Yes, at the beginning of the Hogsmeade trip, go straight to the Hog's Head and that's where we'll have our meeting." Hermione said.

"Wait, but don't we have a problem?" Harry asked, furrowing his eyebrows and staring off into space as if attempting to remember something. "Can Percy even go to Hogsmeade?"

"Huh?" Ron asked, perking his head up for a moment.

"Oh! You're right!" Hermione exclaimed, "Percy can't go because he doesn't have a guardian to sign the form!"

"I need a form to get in?" Percy asked. "Why didn't you guys tell me earlier?"

"We really didn't think about it." Harry admitted. "Is there any other way that we can still get him in? You think Mcgonagall will allow him to go?"

"I don't think so. Mcgonagall didn't even allow you to go until you got your signature." Hermione said.

"So I can't get into Hogsmeade?" Percy asked. "Well, I guess it's okay, you guys can just fill me in on it later."

"Wait, there's a way! You can use Harry's invisibility cloak!" Hermione announced, smiling brightly.

"Brilliant idea Hermione. After breakfast we can go back up to our common room and I can get the cloak from my trunk." Harry said.

"Why don't we go right now?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah, I agree with Ginny. I've already eaten a little bit, plus we can get some food in Hogsmeade after the meeting right?" Percy asked enthusiastically. He resisted the temptation to bounce up and down like a giddy little girl, and settled for slowly sipping his goblet.

"I'm fine with that." Hermione said. She glanced at Ron, shaking her head with a tilted grin on her face. "Although I'm not sure Ron here wants to leave quite yet."

"No, no it's fine. Just give me a second." Ron said, his words difficult to understand considering he had a mouthful of food making his cheeks the size of those of a chipmunk. "Alright, lets go. I wanna save my appetite for Hogsmeade." both Harry and Percy chuckled while Hermione rolled her eyes and Ginny looked up to the sky as if asking: "Why me?"

* * *

The group of five marched toward Hogsmeade between other groups of friends who were looking to have a break from the stress of academics. Of course, all had been granted permission to go except for a certain ocean-eyed demigod who was hidden under an invisibility cloak.

"Guys couldn't you have found a better invisibility cloak than this one?" Percy asked, his voice lowered to avoid suspicion from any passing students. "This is really small, I'm practically squatting."

"How is it small? It covered Harry, Ron and me at the same time." Hermione said. "Granted, we were all pretty small."

"And I didn't find it. The cloak was my dad's." Harry said.

"Ah, well still. This thing is tiny compared to me. How much longer until we get to the place we're meeting?" Percy asked.

"Not much longer. Five or ten minutes." Hermione said, basing her guess off of their location on the familiar path of Hogsmeade.

Percy threw up his arms as of hearing that answer would begin the end of the world. His rash action ended up tossing the cloak slightly into the air, revealing the bottoms of his sneakers and a trim of his robes.

"Percy!" Ginny hissed coinciding with Hermione's eye roll and chuckles from Ron and Harry.

"Sorry, sorry!" Percy whispered, laughing his guts out on the inside. "Nobody noticed."

"How do you know that?" Hermione asked. Percy shrugged, then realizing that nobody could see him gesturing, he answered no.

"But seriously, was there any other way for me to go to Hogsmeade? I'm starting to cramp." Percy asked.

"Umm… maybe?" Harry said questionably. "I didn't think about it earlier, but there are secret passages that you can use to get into Hogsmeade."

"You should've told me that earlier!" Percy said. "Whatever. We're here now."

The group arrived at the Hog's Head, stopping a couple of feet before the entrance.

"This is it? It's so…" Percy trailed off, failing to conjure the right description.

"Inhumane? Broken down? Small?" Harry suggested.

"Old? Not what you imagined?" Ron followed suit. Percy whipped off the invisibility cloak, praying to the gods that nobody saw. He didn't really need it anymore.

"I don't know. I guess all of the above?" Percy said unsurely. "Here."

Percy bundled up the Invisibility cloak and handed it to Harry, who stored it safely in a pocket in his robes.

"Is there a bathroom in there?" Percy asked.

"Don't think so." Hermione said. "But there's one over there in the Three Broomsticks." Hermione gestured to a much bigger and much better looking building compared to the Hog's Head that was not too far.

"Okay. I'll be back in a few." Percy said.

"Yup. See ya in a few." Harry replied. The four headed into the shack that would soon be filled with who-know-how-many students.

Percy walked down the path to the Three Broomsticks, took a deep breath, and smiled. His head turned left and right, watching as students and staff of Hogwarts mingled and hung out, nobody looking depressed or sad. This place, it reminded him of the first time he had arrived at Camp Half-Blood. Everything was so happy and peaceful and filled with light. Disregarding the whole Voldemort situation, Hogwarts and this world of magic was wonderful, it was absolutely amazing.

Percy pushed open the door to the Three Broomsticks and was met with a room filled with life, laughter, and dare he say love. Too bad he was only there to go to the bathroom. Percy shook his head and struggled to maneuver through the crowded room without touching anybody.

A couple of minutes later, Percy exited the Three Broomsticks, looking around and seeing multiple students pile into the Hog's Head. He guessed that it was probably the first time in the building's history that more than 20 people were in it at the same time.

Percy looked toward the sky, noting the near perfect sky that probably wasn't due to an enchantment.

Not paying attention to his surroundings, Percy accidentally bumped into someone, shoulder to shoulder, and turned around to apologize.

"My bad, sorry about that. I wasn't really watching where I was going." Percy said. He stared into the eyes of the woman he bumped into. She was probably in her mid 30's but Percy couldn't be sure. That wasn't what he was captivated by, though.

Her eyes were

"It's quite fine, dear. I'm sure it was entirely my fault." the woman he bumped into him said.

The woman was probably in her mid 20's, but that wasn't what captivated Percy. Her pale complexion and dark, hazel eyes reminded him of someone he didn't particularly like at the moment. Her phrasing raised Percy's suspicion of the woman's identity even more.

"Are you…" Percy asked. "Hecate?" the woman smiled.

"Yes, that seems to be the case." Hecate said. "Why don't we go somewhere we can chat?"

"Hades no. I'm not going anywhere with you." he said. "You literally sent me back in time!"

"Yes, I did didn't I?" Hecate said, tapping her chin. "But that's no reason for us not to have a little chat, is it?!"

"Actually, I think it's a pretty valid reason for me wanting to not see you ever again." Percy said, his hands twitching and his teeth grinding.

"But then you would never know why I sent you back here in the first place." Hecate said cheerfully. "Percy, you know what I'm the goddess of magic, but maybe you forgot what other domains I rule over."

"I know what you can do." Percy said.

"Maybe you do. If you did, then you would know that I'm also the goddess of crossroads" Hecate stated. "You may be asking yourself: 'But beautiful and amazing Hecate, why do you bring this up right now?' and I would say that it's because soon, you will face one of the most difficult choices of your life. Good luck."

"Wait, the fuck? Again?" Percy asked. Hecate walked away without another word, entering the Three Broomsticks. Percy had a feeling that if he tried to follow her, she would be nowhere to be found. He sighed, shaking his head at the situation he had been dragged into. He just couldn't get away from the gods and their stupid _fucking_ messes.

"Gods. Why?" Percy said. He headed to the Hog's Head and just tried to forget it. But he couldn't. The ominous warning of Hecate would be stuck in the back of his head until it would come to fruition.

* * *

 _Harry Pov_

"Percy, What took you so long?" Harry asked as soon as Percy opened the door.

"Ah, just got caught up talking to ." Percy said. "Is everyone here?" he asked as he went between a group of seated students, all observing the conversation between Harry and Percy.

"Yeah. We've just been waiting for you." Harry said. Percy nodded and went to sit with Hermione, Ron, and Harry, who were all seated facing the rest of the students. Harry looked at the people in front of him - actually, they weren't just people. They were kids. Children and teens trying to learn how to fight because they were afraid of being hurt. That wasn't right. It wasn't fair that they all had to grow up with that fear always in the back of their heads. Harry had that experience but had no choice. He was forced into it, what with his parents being murdered by Voldemort and him being the target of Voldemort during the Triwizard maze.

"Okay. Now that we have everyone here, we can begin." Hermione announced to the many people in front of her. She nudged Harry a little, forcing him to go in front and address the crowd.

"Erm, yeah. So, we're here today to kind of, erm do something about Umbridge." Harry started with. "Hopefully, you all realized like I did that Umbridge is the worst at teaching and with everything being how it is, we need to learn how to protect ourselves."

"Now -" Harry was interrupted by a boy on his right, a familiar face in Harry's year.

"Is this about You-Know-Who supposedly murdering Cedric?" Zacharias Smith asked, emphasizing his suspicion. Harry's hands threatened to close into fists, but he relaxed and instead allowed himself to bite his tongue.

"What?" Percy asked. Harry forgot that he hadn't been informed of what had happened the year before. He was going to have to catch Percy up on life as a wizard in the UK.

"We'll discuss this later, Percy." Hermione said. She turned to Zacharias and was about to say something before Ron beat her to it.

"Mate, if all you want to hear is what happened to Cedric, you should fuck off and just leave." Ron practically yelled.

"Prick." Ron muttered under his breath after he sat back down.

"Thanks, Ron." Harry said, with actual gratitude threatening to turn into a grin. "Yeah, just to echo what what Ron said, if you aren't seriously considering being taught how to defend yourselves, or you don't believe me that Voldemort is back, you should leave right now."

Besides some flinches at Voldemort's name, nobody moved.

"Okay, now that we've established what we're here for, let's set a goal." Hermione chimed in. Harry looked back toward her and she motioned for him to start talking.

"Well, I don't actually have a specific goal. I just know that I've learned a lot of things in my years at Hogwarts, some things that you all probably don't know, and with the recent development of Voldemort coming back, I strongly believe that everyone needs to know how to protect themselves and those who can't."

"And are you going to be teaching us?" Michael Cormac from Ravenclaw asked.

"Well of course he will. Who else would?" Hermione asked.

"Why is he any more qualified than any of us?" Michael asked.

"Have you ever killed a basilisk?" Ron asked. Michael didn't move or say anything. "Or fight off dementors?"

"Wait a second." Percy stood up, coming next to Harry. "You guys have basically spent a third of your lives here, together, and you aren't getting along. You guys don't trust or believe each other?"

"I know I don't know you well and you don't know me all that well, but I don't have to know you to say that you all should have an unbreakable bond. Back in America, I used to go to this camp every summer where we were sorted or grouped into different houses or whatever. It was mainly the same people every year and sure, we bickered and fought sometimes, but we still were family. We trusted each other with our own lives. You should have that same bond. You should have that same loyalty to each other. Why don't you have that bond? Why aren't you guys close?"

The room was silent.

Only the sound of drunks sipping beer or other alcoholic beverages could be heard.

Percy backed up, yet remained standing behind and to the side of Harry. Again, he was alone in the front. Yet he felt Percy's presence and knew that Percy had his back if it came to it.

"Thanks, Percy." Harry said. He meant it. His confidence grew as his consciousness of his friends behind him strengthened. "It isn't my idea to teach you guys. I'm not forcing you guys to learn from me. I'm not the one hiring myself to teach people. It's your guys' decision whether or not I'll help you." Harry said calmly. His confidence grew by the second. The doubts of two of his peers really fueled the fire and Percy's words boosted him even further. Harry was getting more and more into this crazy plan.

"Okay." Hermione said, breaking up another long stretch of silence. "Now that we're done with that, those who want to sign up for this, I have a piece of parchment here that you can put your name on. And don't think of snitching to anyone, or you'll wake up to a terrible surprise."

"Way to ruin the mood." Ron said.

"It's not like this room was glowing with joy, Ron!" Hermione said. She cleared her throat and turned back to the seated company. "You can obviously still tell people that you're positive either won't snitch or will join."

Fred and George were the first to come up and sign their names, and after that, one by one, people started getting up.

"Write your names correctly." Hermione said, glaring at Fred and George. They both smiled and walked off after signing the sheet. I took a deep breath and smiled. The worst of it was over.

"Oh, before I forget. We'll inform some people of the next meetings details once we know where we can meet. Spread the word once the info's out." Hermione said. One after another, everyone, including Michael and Zacharias, signed the sheet of parchment.

After everyone exited the Hog's Head, Harry sighed and Percy patted him on the back.

"You did fine, Harry. Don't worry about it." Percy said.

"Yeah, Harry. That actually wasn't too bad." Hermione said.

"Thanks guys. That helps. It really does." Harry said. "Did you mean what you said, Percy?"

They walked out of the pub, and started to walk along the path to other shops and such.

"I guess. It kind of came out of nowhere." Percy shrugged. "I don't know. Loyalty has always been a big deal to me, and back home, the bonds and relationships I formed were really special to me. Although they practically don't exist anymore, I'll never forget."

"Well, that was heavy." Ron said. "Let's go to Zonko's or something. There's a couple of things I want to check out."

"Sure, Ron." Percy said, chuckling. "Let's go.

"You know, whatever the outcome, wherever we end up, I won't ever forget this friendship." Harry said, feeling influenced by Percy's speech as well as his own.

"Me neither." Percy said.

"Same here." Hermione said. Ron nodded in agreement.

"Okay, enough sappy shit." Percy said, smiling. "Let's change the mood, shall we? Who wants to prank Fred and George?"

* * *

 **Try to pay attention to little details and small storylines that you might think had no reason to be in this story. They might be important later! See you next time.**


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